The In-Between Times
by MariaClaire
Summary: A collection of missing moments from The Blood of Olympus. Told mainly from the points of view of Annabeth and Hazel.
1. Chapter 1: Ithaca

*****So as much as I enjoyed **_**Blood of Olympus**_** (and I really, truly did), there were a few things that I missed or wanted more of—mostly I wanted more scenes with the Seven. Also, although there were some great moments, the book was seriously lacking in Percy/Annabeth fluff. Which is all why I decided to write a "missing moments" story. It's told from Annabeth and Hazel's POVs, because they were two of the characters I wanted to hear more from in the actual book. **

**This first chapter takes place while Jason, Piper, and Annabeth are on Ithaca and continues when they get back. For more about what may have happened before they left, check out my one-shot **_**Disguises**_**. **

**There will be eight chapters total in this story. The next chapter will be up on Monday, January 12. Thanks for reading!*****

* * *

><p><strong>HAZEL:<strong>

When Piper, Jason, and Annabeth left, a tense silence settled over the _Argo II_. Frank paced the deck, occasionally turning into a falcon and flying up to perch on the mast for a better view. Leo was in the bow, tinkering with Festus's brain again. Percy stood at the port rail, eyes fixed on the island, though every couple minutes he scanned the sea for any signs of an attack. After reassuring herself that the Mist disguises she'd given the others were working, Hazel joined him at the rail.

"I hate this," Percy muttered. "Waiting and not knowing what's going on drive me crazy."

Hazel gaze him a sympathetic look. "The others will be fine. They're just going to sneak in, get the information we need, and come right back. Besides, if it comes to a fight, you know it's the ghosts who should be scared."

"True." Percy gave her a small smile. "How are you always so calm?"

"Not always," Hazel said. "I threw a fit when Leo and I were cut off from the others after that stupid tunnel collapsed in the House of Hades. Not my proudest moment."

"It happens. Believe me. Speaking of Leo," Percy glanced over his shoulder at Leo, who was using his own hand as a welding torch. "Do you know what his deal is? He seems kind of angry at me and I have no idea why."

"Oh." Hazel flashed back to the night before, when Leo had told her where Khione had sent him and who he'd met there. She knew exactly why Leo was mad at Percy, but she wasn't sure how much she should say. "Remember when Piper was talking about how Khione the snow goddess showed up?"

"Yeah." Percy frowned, like he wasn't sure where she was going with this.

"Khione blasted Leo into the sky, supposedly to a place of no return." Hazel hesitated. "He, um, met someone there. I think you know her."

Percy's brow furrowed, then suddenly his eyes widened in understanding. "Oooohhh. Khione sent him—?"

"Yep."

"And he met—?"

"Yes."

"Huh. That explains a lot." Percy glanced at Leo again and winced. "I'll talk to him."

"Good." A flash of light caught Hazel's eye. She turned to the island. The flash came again, from the top of the hill where the palace of Odysseus was located. "Did you see that?"

"See what?" Percy, too, turned back to the island as several flashes blinked out. "It almost looks like a signal."

Realization dawned on Hazel. "Leo! Get over here!"

Leo hurried to the railing. "What's wrong?"

"The others are signaling us." Hazel pointed to the hillside. "I think it's Morse code."

Leo squinted at the flashes. "H—U—R—T."

"Hurt? Who's hurt?" Percy asked, his voice tense.

"Don't know, man." Leo was still watching the signals. "N—E—E—D—H—E—L—P. Need help."

"Someone's hurt and they need help." Hazel's stomach twisted. She waved to Frank, perched at the top of the mast, and he flew down.

"What's going on?" he asked after transforming back into himself.

"We may need a medical evac," Leo said. Signals flashed again on the hill. "J—A—S—O—N—H—U—R—T—N—E—E—D—H—E—L—P."

"Jason hurt, need help," Frank translated.

Leo's jaw tightened. "Festus! Use fire to send a Morse code message: Sending Frank." The dragon roared acknowledgement, then flashed the signals. "Frank, go."

"Tell Piper and Annabeth we'll pick them up at the beach," Hazel added.

Frank nodded, then transformed into a giant eagle and took off. The other three watched him fly away. A ripple of fear ran down Hazel's spine; the others wouldn't have signaled for help unless it was really bad.

"I'll go to the beach and get the girls," Percy volunteered.

Hazel shook her head. "I'll go. Frank and Leo will need your help to get Jason to sickbay."

For a moment, she thought Percy was going to protest, but then he nodded.

Leo headed for the helm. "I'll cover you guys from here, just in case anything tries to attack from the island."

Hazel took a deep breath. She called on the Mist. Keeping her destination firmly in mind, she dissolved into darkness.

* * *

><p><strong>ANNABETH:<strong>

Annabeth was impressed with how calmly Piper had handled Jason's injury. But as soon as Dragon Frank took off, Jason swinging below him in his hastily-constructed litter, Piper burst into tears. Annabeth hugged her friend. She didn't offer any words of comfort; they would have just sounded hollow. Instead, she patted her back as Piper sobbed into her shoulder.

After about a minute, Piper took a shaky breath and pulled back. She wiped a hand across her eyes. "Thanks. I didn't mean to fall apart like that, but…"

"It's fine," Annabeth reassured her. "You were amazing, taking care of his injury. And Jason's a fighter. He's going to make it."

Piper didn't say anything. She just bent down to pick up her sword and Jason's _gladius_.

"Come on," Annabeth said. "Let's get to the beach so we can catch our ride back to the ship."

The walk back down the hill was harder than the walk up. It should have been easier, but Annabeth's ankle was killing her. _Stupid Arachne_, she thought viciously as she limped a few steps behind Piper down the hillside. _Stupid Gaea. Stupid giants and ghosts that stab my friends. And stupid Hera, with her complete lack of any real help_. She shut off her mental tirade as they reached the beach and saw Hazel waiting for them.

"What happened?" Hazel's expression confirmed Annabeth's suspicion that she and Piper looked a lot worse than when they'd left the ship.

"Our cover was blown," Annabeth said. "But we got the information we came for. We'll tell you guys later though." She glanced at Piper, whose eyes were fixed on the ship.

Hazel nodded and held out her hands. "Let's check on the guys."

Shadow-travel, or Mist-travel, or whatever it was, wasn't Annabeth's favorite mode of transportation, but at least it was fast. However, when they appeared on the ship, none of the guys were on deck. Annabeth and Hazel exchanged worried looks, then followed Piper down to sickbay.

* * *

><p>An hour later, Annabeth had changed clothes and cleaned up. Thanks to some ambrosia, the cut on her neck had healed and the pain in her ankle had subsided to a dull throb. Jason was stable; Piper was sitting with him while he rested in sickbay. They'd told Leo to set course for Olympia, but Piper and Annabeth were waiting until dinner to discuss what the suitors had said with the rest of the crew, mostly because Jason was the one with the majority of the information. Exhaustion was beginning to overcome the adrenaline still coursing through her and Annabeth was sitting on her bed debating taking a nap when Percy appeared in her doorway.<p>

"Hey," he said. "Can I come in?"

"Of course. Just leave the door open so Buford doesn't have a fit."

Percy smirked. "I think the table and hologram might actually be a more effective chaperone than the real coach."

"Don't ever let Hedge hear you say that," Annabeth warned.

"Oh gods, no," Percy said as he sat down beside her. "He'd come after me with that baseball bat."

Annabeth leaned against Percy. "I can't believe you're afraid of a satyr."

"You would be, too, if you'd seen him ninja-kick Keto in the back of the head."

They were quiet for a minute. Percy put his arm around her. "You okay?"

Annabeth shrugged. "Long day." Unbidden, a tear slipped down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away.

"Want to tell me about it?" Percy prompted gently.

Annabeth told him what had happened in the ruins of Odysseus's palace, about the suitors, how Jason's mom had shown up, and the fight that followed, culminating with Jason being stabbed by Michael Varus.

"Wow," Percy said when she finished. "Jason's really not having a good day."

"Not at all," Annabeth agreed. Another tear slipped down her cheek. She ignored it. "It was just so cruel."

"Varus stabbing him?"

"No. Well, yeah, that too, but I was talking about his mom."

"Oh, yeah. Gods, I can't even imagine. Even when things have been crazy, I've always had my mom." Percy's voice caught just the tiniest bit. "I, um, tried to send her an IM when we got back, you know, from Tartarus, but it didn't go through."

"You're getting home to your mom, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth said fiercely. "We're all going to make it back."

"I hope so." Percy didn't sound like he believed her, but before Annabeth could say anything, he changed the subject. "Were you limping earlier?"

"Oh, that." Annabeth sighed. "I don't think my ankle ever healed properly. Sometimes, like when I'm stressed, it still hurts."

"Seriously?" Percy pulled back to look at her, forcing Annabeth to reluctantly lift her head off his shoulder. "Why didn't you say anything?"

His brows were furrowed in concern, which always made Annabeth flash back to the balcony at the Plaza, after she'd been stabbed. "It's not that big of a deal, Percy. I had some ambrosia and it feels better. Besides, Jason's the one who got stabbed, not me. You should be worried about him."

"I am, but I can worry about you, too. I mean, Jason's not my girlfriend."

"Glad you cleared that up," came Leo's voice from the doorway, making both Percy and Annabeth jump.

Percy turned bright red. "That came out wrong."

"Yes, it did," Leo agreed.

Annabeth fought back a laugh. "What's up, Leo?"

"Jason, who is not Percy's girlfriend, is up, so we're meeting in the mess hall to talk about what you guys learned in Ithaca."

"We'll be right there," Annabeth said.

Leo disappeared down the hall and Annabeth gave Percy a kiss on the cheek. "Come on, Seaweed Brain. Time to get back to work."


	2. Chapter 2: Olympia

*****Hi all, thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites! Here's Chapter Two, which takes place while the group is in Olympia and continues while they're all on their way to Pylos. Hope you enjoy! The next chapter should be up Wednesday, January 14. **

**Also, because I don't think I've done one yet—Disclaimer: These characters, weapons, and war ship belong to Rick Riordan. I'm just borrowing them.*****

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><p><strong>ANNABETH:<strong>

Once Percy, Leo, Hazel, and Frank went off to search for Nike, Jason headed to his room to take a nap, which left Annabeth and Piper with nothing to do except wait and worry. That got old quickly, which was when Piper suggested that they practice sword fighting.

"Hazel's been teaching me, but her techniques are very Roman," Piper said. "I was hoping you could show me more of the Greek fighting style."

"Definitely," Annabeth said. "Plus, I need practice. I'm not completely used to my new sword yet."

They worked out for about an hour. Annabeth was impressed at how much better Piper had gotten at using a sword. And the Roman techniques Hazel had taught her intrigued Annabeth. The tactical part of her brain whirred, thinking of ways to incorporate the Greek and Roman techniques into a more effective fighting style.

"Remind me to ask Hazel to show me some more of those moves," Annabeth told Piper after they finished practicing. The two of them were sitting on the deck, resting and trying to relax a little bit in the hot summer sun.

"Will do." Piper leaned back and closed her eyes. "I hope they're not having too much trouble finding Nike."

"Same here." From where she was sitting, Annabeth couldn't see the hills and ruins of Olympia. All she could see was the _Argo II's _railing and the endless stretch of blue sky beyond it. "How's Jason doing?"

"Still sleeping. I checked a few minutes ago." Piper sat up, hugging her knees. "I'm really worried. The wound doesn't seem to be getting any better. And I don't know what else I can do."

"Hera said he had to fight this on his own," Annabeth said. "Maybe the best thing you can do is just remind him why he needs to keep fighting."

Piper didn't say anything.

"I know that's hard to hear," Annabeth continued, hoping she hadn't made her friend mad.

"Doesn't mean it's not true." Piper gave Annabeth a tired smile. "It's just hard to sit back and not be able to do anything when someone you care about is hurt. I feel so helpless."

"I know the feeling. Believe me." Annabeth remembered watching Percy slowly dying of gorgon's blood poison in Tartarus and the horrible feeling of not being able to help him.

"Tartarus?" Piper asked, studying her face.

"Yeah. There were these _arai_, the spirits of curses…" Annabeth told Piper about the _arai _attacking them in the trees, then about Bob taking them to Damasen's hut, where the giant had saved Percy's life. Piper was a good listener and Annabeth kept going, telling her about drinking Phlegethon water, fighting the stupid _empousai_ again, about the horrible moment of Percy choking the goddess of misery in her poison glade, standing on the edge of Chaos and facing Nyx, then getting to the heart of Tartarus and the horror of the dark god of the pit rising at the Doors of Death. And she told Piper how Damasen and Bob had sacrificed themselves to allow Percy and Annabeth to escape.

When Annabeth finished, Piper didn't say anything. She just reached out and squeezed Annabeth's hand. While Annabeth was still trying to regain her composure and wiping tears away with the hem of her t-shirt, there was a shout from below. Piper and Annabeth exchanged looks, then stood quickly and hurried to the railing.

The only good thing about what she saw in the parking lot below? It drove all thoughts of Tartarus straight out of Annabeth's mind. "What in Zeus's name is _that_?"

"That," Piper said grimly, "looks like the goddess of victory."

* * *

><p><strong>HAZEL:<strong>

"So, we have the goddess of victory tied up in the stables," Annabeth said. "Now what?"

The seven of them were gathered around the helm as Leo set course for Pylos. Hazel had changed into non-torn jeans, but her leg was still sore, even after the ambrosia. However, she didn't feel nearly as bad as Jason looked. He was leaning heavily against the railing, lines of pain etched in his face, though he was clearly trying to keep his expression neutral. From below, Nike's angry screams could be heard, even over the thrum of the engine and the occasional outbursts of "PUT SOME CLOTHES ON!" from Buford's mini-Hedge hologram.

"Now, we head to Pylos," Leo said, "and find the first ingredient to make this physician's cure, whatever the heck that is."

"Wait, back up," Piper said. "What's the physician's cure and why do we need it?"

Hazel and Percy exchanged looks. "We have some bad news," Hazel said.

"Turns out," Percy said, "the goddess of victory isn't exactly cheery."

Annabeth's eyes narrowed. "What did she tell you?"

"According to Nike, one of the four of us—Frank, Percy, Leo, or I," Hazel gestured to the boys and herself, "is fated to die fighting Gaea."

There was absolute silence as they let that sink in. The color drained out of Annabeth and Piper's faces. Jason couldn't get any paler, but he sagged a little more against the railing.

Piper was the first to recover.

"No," she said firmly. "I refuse to believe that. There has to be another way."

"No victory without sacrifice," Leo said. "According to the nutball goddess downstairs."

"But there might be a way to cheat death," Frank added. "This physician's cure."

"But what _is_ the physician's cure?" Annabeth asked.

"Not sure," Frank admitted. "But according to Nike, if we can collect these—ingredients, I guess you'd call them, we can make the cure to cheat death."

"But how does it work?" Annabeth insisted.

"Nike wouldn't tell us any more," Percy said. "She tried to curse us, so Frank stuck his sock in her mouth."

"Which may have been the smartest move anyone made all day," Leo said.

"Anyway," Hazel broke in, "according to Nike we need to find the poison of Pylos, the chained god's heartbeat in Sparta, and," she frowned, trying to remember, "what was the last thing?"

"The curse of Delos," Frank supplied.

Jason straightened up, wincing. "Well, at least we have a roadmap. Pylos, Sparta, and Delos. Those are all on the way to Athens, right?"

Leo spun his Wii controller and a holographic map of Greece blinked into existence over the console. He typed in a couple of commands and little dots flashed up on the map. "Looks like Pylos and Sparta are on our route around the Peloponnese. Delos may be a problem. It's all the way out here," Leo pointed to a tiny island set in a cluster of islands some ways off the mainland, "so we basically have to overshoot our destination, then backtrack to Athens."

"But if it's to save one of your lives," Annabeth started to say.

"Then I'm cool with backtracking," Percy finished. "It's only what, July twenty-second? We should have plenty of time to find this cure. Assuming, of course, that nothing unexpected happens."

"Famous last words, my friend." Leo grimaced as he pointed at a dark cloud ahead of them that was rapidly approaching. "Correct me if I'm wrong, and I would love to be wrong, but that's a flock of gryphons flying towards us, isn't it?"

Frank groaned. "I really hate those things."

The discussion pretty much ended as they all drew their weapons and the gryphons swooped down, screeching like a pack of hyenas.

* * *

><p>The next day was relatively quiet, with the exception of a few <em>venti<em> and gryphon attacks. The ship was due to arrive in Pylos by the next morning. Truthfully, they probably could have made it there by this afternoon, but they were running at quarter speed while Leo did more "routine maintenance." Hazel and Piper agreed that he was up to something, but they had no idea what it could be, so they left him alone.

By lunch, Hazel was bored. So when Annabeth asked if Hazel could show her some of the Roman sword-fighting techniques she'd taught Piper, Hazel immediately replied, "Sure!"

It was another beautiful summer day, perfect for just about anything besides suicidal quests to save the world. However, nothing was attacking them right now and the sea was calm enough that Hazel's stomach was almost settled. Besides, over the last few weeks they'd all gotten good at making the most of whatever downtime they had.

Hazel, Annabeth, and Piper made their way to the middle of the deck, where there was plenty of room to practice without the risk of breaking essential equipment. All four boys were currently standing around the helm, deep in discussion about some video game. In between working on his Archimedes sphere, Leo was using the ship's computer to bring up YouTube videos about the game.

Hazel still didn't completely understand the appeal of video games, although Frank, Leo, _and_ Percy had all tried to enlighten her. It just seemed stupid to sit in front of a television set when you could actually be out in the world doing something. But maybe she just felt that way because she'd grown up in the 1940s, before video games even existed.

"Oh gods," Piper muttered, "they're talking about _Call of Duty _again."

Annabeth groaned.

"What _is_ _Call of Duty_?" Hazel asked. "I mean, I know it's a game, but what's it about?"

"Basically, you run around with a gun and shoot people," Piper said.

"That's awful!" Hazel exclaimed. "How can they play that?"

"It's supposed to simulate being in a war," Annabeth told her. "Percy swears there's strategy to it, but I can't get into the game."

Hazel held up her hands. "Wait. They're here actually fighting a _real_ war, but they want to play a game where they _pretend_ to be soldiers?"

Piper rolled her eyes. "I know. Boys are weird."

"So true." Annabeth drew her sword. "Okay, Roman girl. Show me what you've got."

They went over different moves for a while. As far as Hazel could tell, the Greek style of fighting involved more slashing movements and was more chaotic, while the Roman form was more restrained and thrusts were carried out with a stabbing motion.

Annabeth picked up the Roman techniques quickly. Hazel was impressed. "Are you always such a fast learner?"

Annabeth shrugged. "I've been training since I was seven years old. Eventually, you develop an instinct about how to move with a weapon."

"Good to hear. That means there's hope for me," Piper said.

"You've been doing great in your lessons," Hazel assured her.

"Thanks. But you both make it look so easy."

"It just takes practice," Annabeth told her.

Hazel asked Piper to step in and spar with Annabeth for a bit so that Hazel could observe her use of the Roman techniques and make corrections. Piper really had gotten better. When Hazel had first started working with her, Piper had been stiff and hesitant. Now, she seemed comfortable with her Boread sword and she moved easily, ducking, dodging, and parrying Annabeth's strikes. Hazel walked around where they were fighting, studying their moves and occasionally offering suggestions. She was so focused on what she was doing she didn't notice Frank and Percy had come down from the helm until she literally ran into Frank.

"Sorry!" Frank grabbed her arm to keep her from falling.

"It's okay," Hazel said as Annabeth and Piper lowered their swords. "Did you guys get tired of talking about _Duty Calls_?"

"_Call of Duty_," Frank corrected.

"And there's still plenty to discuss about that," Percy said. "But we were wondering if we could get in on the sword-fighting practice?"

Hazel was surprised, but pleased. "Of course. Frank, why don't you go up against Piper and, Percy, you can be with Annabeth."

"Works for me." Percy grinned at his girlfriend.

"Um, can I borrow your sword?" Frank asked Hazel. "Since, you know, I don't actually have one."

She handed her _spatha _to him. "Why the sudden interest in sword-fighting?"

He shrugged. "After Venice and the House of Hades, I realized it's a pretty important skill to have. Plus, a praetor should be able to use a sword just as well as a bow."

"I think a praetor can decide to use whatever weapon he wants," Hazel said.

"Maybe." Frank gave her a small smile as he hefted her sword, testing the balance. "But it never hurts to practice."

"True," Hazel agreed. "Alright, guys, pair up. Go whenever you're ready."

* * *

><p><strong>ANNABETH:<strong>

Annabeth's heart beat a little faster as she faced Percy. It had been almost a year since they'd practiced together. The last time had been about a week before Percy left with Charles Beckendorf on the _Princess Andromeda _mission. That session had ended in an argument, as pretty much every conversation between them did at the time. The next day, Percy had left to spend some time at home, which really meant "hanging out with Rachel Dare." Annabeth hadn't seen him again until he'd gotten back from blowing up the cruise ship.

"You ready?" Percy asked as he uncapped Riptide.

"Bring it on, Seaweed Brain. And don't you dare go easy on me."

He gave her his familiar smirk. "Wouldn't dream of it."

Typically, Annabeth hung back, playing off of Percy's impatience; his first move was usually sloppy, which made it easy to counterattack. But today, to throw him off balance, she attacked quickly, forcing him to go on defense. With Piper, Annabeth had been holding back a little bit, since Piper simply didn't have as much experience, but with Percy she knew she could go all out. He could handle pretty much anything she threw at him.

It didn't take him long to recover from the surprise of her initial attack. He caught one of her strikes on the flat of his blade, then turned the block into a downward cut, forcing Annabeth to parry. It was her turn to go on defense and she allowed him to push her back a few steps while she looked for an opening. She found one when Percy took a high swing at her shoulder, leaving his right side open. Using a stabbing motion Hazel had shown her, Annabeth managed to get under his guard and Percy backed up quickly.

"I've told you before not to leave your right side open," Annabeth said.

"Noted." Percy wiped sweat out of his eyes with his forearm. Annabeth had a moment to admire his biceps before he raised his sword again and came at her with a flurry of blows that left her no room to think about anything but defense.

They went back and forth like this for a while. Annabeth played with some of the Roman techniques Hazel had shown her, trying to incorporate them into her own style. She was able to use them pretty effectively against Percy. The part of her brain that wasn't focused on the fight was concerned about the fact that he was rusty at adapting to a different fighting style. But the second after that thought occurred to her, Percy used one of the Roman techniques against her to counter her attack.

He grinned at her surprise. "You weren't the only one who learned some things from the Romans."

Annabeth narrowed her eyes. "Very tricky."

"It's nice to know I can still surprise you."

Annabeth swung her sword in an uppercut at his head, which Percy easily blocked. He was still grinning as she went on the offensive.

Strike, parry, dip, dodge, twist. Annabeth let her reflexes take over briefly while she analyzed the fight. Percy _was _better (though she hated to admit it) and stronger, but Annabeth was quicker and good at misdirecting her opponent. Often in a fight, a person's eyes gave away what their next target would be. Annabeth used that to her advantage, looking purposefully in the opposite direction from where she planned to strike. This type of misdirection didn't work as well on Percy, since he knew her tricks, but it did give her an idea. The next time Percy slashed, Annabeth ducked so that she got inside his reach, pretending it was an accident when they were suddenly nose to nose. She held his eyes for an extra moment, which was just long enough to cause him to lose focus, giving Annabeth an opportunity to press the point of her sword against his chest.

"And you're dead," she said triumphantly, taking a step back, still holding him at sword point.

"Ah, come on," Percy complained. "That was so not fair."

"That was strategy, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth smiled sweetly.

Percy made a face. "Fine."

She lowered her sword. Quick as a striking snake, Percy caught her wrist and twisted her arm behind her back. It didn't hurt, but she couldn't move. The next thing she knew, his sword was at her throat.

"Never lower your guard," he reminded her.

His breath tickled her ear. Annabeth swallowed. "Totally cheating. You were dead."

Percy kissed her on the cheek. "That's strategy."

"Whatever."

He let her go. She caught one glimpse of him grinning before she swept his legs out from under him. He landed on his back and Annabeth pinned him there with her knee on his chest, one hand holding his wrist to keep his sword down, her other hand at his throat.

"What was that about not letting your guard down?" It was her turn to smirk.

"Alright, I give," Percy groaned. "You win."

Beneath her fingertips, Annabeth could feel his pulse hammering. "Say it."

"You have got to be kidding."

"You just said I won." Annabeth grinned. "That means you have to say it."

"Annabeth—"

"I'm not letting you up until you say it, Seaweed Brain."

Percy rolled his eyes. "Okay, fine." He took a deep breath. "Annabeth is the best, most awesome person ever. And my head is full of kelp."

"Wait, what?" came Frank's voice.

Annabeth had completely forgotten about their friends. She looked around to discover that she and Percy were currently the center of attention on deck. It was a good thing her cheeks were already flushed from sparring, otherwise it would have been obvious that she was blushing. Quickly, Annabeth stood and offered a hand to help Percy up.

Jason was grinning for the first time in a day or so. "I finally see what they all meant at camp." He glanced at Leo and Piper. "Right?"

"Oh, yeah," Leo smirked.

"What are you talking about?" Percy asked.

"You're the Aphrodite head counselor, Pipes," Leo said, still smirking. "You want to take this?"

Piper shook her head, but she was clearly trying not to laugh.

"_What?_" Annabeth insisted.

Piper gave in and laughed. "All the old campers—the Stolls, Kayla from Apollo, Katie Gardiner, Drew, even Clarisse—told us they were never sure if you two liked each other or just wanted to kill each other."

"Now we can see their point," Jason added.

"I still don't get it," Percy said.

"Man, you two are _intense_," Leo said. "Seriously, there were a couple of times there I thought she was really going to gut you."

"I heard that during the Titan War the Hermes cabin was taking bets about which way things would go." Jason was still grinning. "Travis Stoll lost twenty bucks to Katie Gardiner, Annabeth, when you kissed Percy. He was sure you were going to punch him."

Annabeth shook her head in exasperation. "We were in the middle of a war and _that's_ what they were talking about?"

"Apparently you two were the juicy gossip." Piper spread her hands in a _what can you do _gesture.

"I still want to know why Percy had to say his head is full of kelp," Frank said.

"Oh, that." Annabeth laughed. "It's something we started the first summer Percy was at Camp Half-Blood, after we got back from our quest."

"If you could pin the other person, you won and you got to make them say whatever you wanted." Percy rolled his eyes. "And I thought we'd stopped doing that like three years ago."

"I thought I'd bring back an old tradition." Annabeth kissed his cheek.

Percy snorted, but he looked slightly mollified.

"So what did you have to say?" Hazel asked Annabeth with a grin.

"Nothing." Annabeth smiled slowly. "I never lost."

"You mean I never pinned you," Percy corrected. "And it's called being a gentleman."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Jackson," Leo chuckled. A water spout shot from the ocean and doused Leo. "Aw, man, not cool! You can't hit the fire guy with water!"

But the others were too busy laughing to respond.


	3. Chapter 3: Sparta

*****This chapter takes place during and after the events in Sparta because, personally, that was one of my favorite parts in the book and I wanted to know more about what happened after Piper and Annabeth left the Temple of Fear. Thanks for reading! As always, none of this belongs to me, I am not Rick Riordan, I'm just borrowing his characters. Also, all of the details about the characters' rooms in this story come from the map of the **_**Argo II**_** on Rick Riordan's website.*** **

* * *

><p><strong>HAZEL:<strong>

After Piper and Annabeth left, Percy offered to help Leo fix the toilets. Water was running down the hallway and covering the floors of Hazel's room and the mess hall, so she decided to go on deck for a while, until the boys sorted out the mess.

She joined Frank, who was keeping watch.

"Am I going to have to turn into a fish to get back to my room?" he asked.

Hazel laughed. "No. There's only about an inch of water on the ground. I'm sure Leo and Percy will get it cleaned up."

Frank nodded. "Where's Jason?"

"Lying down again." Hazel bit her lip. "Piper's really worried. The wound isn't getting worse, but it doesn't seem to be getting any better either."

"That's what Leo said, too." Frank grimaced. "I wish there was something we could do."

"I know."

They were quiet for a few minutes, watching a pair of hawks circling over the sprawl of modern Sparta. The sun was hot, but there was a nice breeze blowing across the deck. The ship was steady as it floated over the town, which meant Hazel's stomach was also calm. It made for a nice change. Nike had stopped screaming, which was another pleasant change. The goddess seemed to have become resigned to her temporary fate over the last day and a half. Hazel was glad for the quiet, but thinking of Nike only reminded her of what the goddess had said, about Frank, Leo, Percy, or Hazel having to die in order for the crew to defeat Gaea. Instinctively, her hand went to her jacket pocket, where she'd been keeping Frank's lifeline, but it wasn't there anymore. She glanced down at the pouch tied to his belt, made from the fireproof cloth woven by Calypso. Frank saw her looking.

"It still feels weird," he admitted, "carrying my lifeline out in the open after hiding it for so long. But I think this is better. It doesn't feel like as much of a burden. Is that strange?"

"No." Hazel took his hand. "You shouldn't have to hide a part of yourself. I tried doing that when I first came to Camp Jupiter and it was exhausting."

"Yeah, I bet." Frank squeezed her hand. "But I'm really, really glad that Nico brought you back."

Hazel smiled. "Me, too." She stood on her tiptoes so she could kiss Frank. As horrible as dying had been, she was grateful to be here now, with her awesome boyfriend, just enjoying the moment of peace.

By afternoon, Leo and Percy had fixed the toilets, but Piper and Annabeth still weren't back. Hazel was sketching the view of Sparta when Percy, Leo, and Jason came up from the lower deck.

"They're not back yet?" Percy asked.

Hazel shook her head. Percy and Jason exchanged worried looks. "I'm sure they're fine," Hazel said. "If anybody can take care of themselves, it's Piper and Annabeth."

"True," Leo chimed in. "I mean, separately they can be pretty intimidating. But together," he gave an exaggerated shudder, "scary."

Jason smiled weakly. "Remind me to tell Pipes you're scared of her, Valdez. It'll make her day."

"I aim to please." Leo studied Jason's face. "Dude, are you sure you should be up? You're looking a little green."

"I'm fine." Jason waved him off. "Too much time belowdecks."

"Are you sure you don't want a chair or at least—"

"Leo." There was an edge to Jason's voice that Hazel had never heard before. "Just drop it. Please."

Leo raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. "You're the boss."

Frank, who had been scouting around in the form of a falcon, landed on the deck.

"Did you see anything?" Percy asked before Frank was even fully de-feathered.

"Nothing. Everything seems quiet."

Percy tapped his fingers nervously against the railing. "It shouldn't be taking this long."

Jason's face was coated with a sheen of sweat, but Hazel didn't know if it was from pain, nerves, or just the warm weather. "Maybe it's just taking them a while to find the right place. Like when Piper and Frank had to search all of Pylos to find his relatives."

"Yeah," Frank agreed. "Plus, we had to stop at a store so I could get new clothes after that monster slimed me up."

The corner of Leo's mouth twitched. "So, you're saying the girls probably went shopping?"

Hazel laughed, and even Jason and Percy cracked smiles.

Frank shrugged. "You never know. Maybe they'll bring us back t-shirts."

"Or an Ares bobble-head doll," Leo suggested.

"Oh yeah, that's exactly the souvenir I want," Percy said.

Hazel giggled. "Or a snowglobe."

Jason grinned. "With a miniature, PO'd Khione trapped inside."

The laughter helped ease the tension. But Percy was still tapping the railing, while Jason was darting looks at the town below them. Their anxiety was starting to affect Hazel. She said a silent prayer that Piper and Annabeth would come back safely.

They had to.

* * *

><p><strong>ANNABETH:<strong>

The moment they burst from the darkness of the cave onto the sunny hillside, Annabeth's knees gave out. She dropped to all fours on the warm grass, shaking and fighting down the urge to vomit. Focusing on revenge for Bob and Damasen had given her just enough strength for the battle with the giant, but now that it was over, she could feel the terror rushing over her again, threatening to blot out everything else.

_I am a child of Athena_, she reminded herself. _I control my own mind._ But her mind wasn't the problem. It was her emotions that were out of control and they were much harder to get a handle on. The fear was just that intense. It had been more horrible than anything she'd ever experienced, probably because it was _everything_ awful she'd experienced, all crashing over her in one massive wave that left her disoriented and gasping for air.

Annabeth jumped when she felt someone touch her, but it was just Piper, patting her back. Once again, her friend helped bring Annabeth back to reality. Taking a deep breath, she managed to sit up.

"Thanks, Piper," she said.

Piper looked pale and shaken up, but she smiled. "What are friends for?"

Annabeth tried to laugh, but it came out more like a sob. "You were amazing, by the way. I'm sorry I completely went to pieces."

"You did fine," Piper said soothingly. "I was freaked out, too. But you just came back from Tartarus. Of course the fear affected you more."

Annabeth shuddered. "Yeah, I guess."

"Here, I think we need these." Piper rummaged in her bag and pulled out two foil-wrapped rectangles.

"Ambrosia?"

"Nope." Piper's hand was still trembling as she handed Annabeth one of the rectangles, which made Annabeth feel slightly less embarrassed about her own meltdown. "I got these in the gift shop at the olive oil museum. It's chocolate."

"Even better than ambrosia."

They sat on the hillside and ate their chocolate bars in silence. The sun, the wind, and the absence of fear helped bring Annabeth's heartbeat back down to normal, but she still felt fragile inside, like a broken plate that had been glued back together. She didn't feel like it would take much to smash her into pieces again.

"At least we got what we came for," she said.

Piper nodded. "The _makhai _said I can call on them one time. They'll help complete the cure."

"The cure that we still don't actually know how to _make_."

"Don't worry." Piper crumpled up her empty candy wrapper and put it back in her bag. "I have a feeling we'll figure it out."

Annabeth had to smile at that. "I believe you."

* * *

><p>The others were waiting on deck when they got back to the ship.<p>

"Thank the gods," Percy said. He hugged her and Annabeth almost lost her composure.

She pulled away, but slipped her hand into his. "One more giant down. All thanks to Piper."

"It took both of us," Piper corrected. She kissed Jason's cheek. "Are you sure you should be up?"

"I'm fine." He waved a hand weakly. "So Mimas is gone?"

"Yep," Piper said.

"See?" Leo grinned. "I told them you two were scarier than any giant."

Annabeth glanced at Hazel. "Is that a compliment?"

Hazel shrugged. "I think he means well."

"Of course it's a compliment," Leo said. "So did you get the 'chained god's heartbeat' or whatever?"

Before Piper could answer, Jason collapsed.

"Jason!" Piper and Leo caught him before he hit the deck.

Leo cursed. "I told him to sit down. Frank, Percy, can you help me get him to sickbay?"

When the others had disappeared down the steps, Hazel put a hand on Annabeth's arm. "Are you alright?"

"Fine," Annabeth said, probably too quickly because Hazel's brows knit in concern. "It was just a tough fight with Mimas. But we got the _makhai_, the spirits of battle, for the physician's cure. Piper and I can tell everyone about what happened at dinner. Hopefully Jason will be back up by then."

"Hopefully." Hazel bit her lip. "His wound isn't getting any better, is it?"

"No," Annabeth admitted. "Hera said he has to find his own cure. Which is about as helpful as every other piece of advice from that useless goddess."

"Wouldn't it be nice to get a simple answer once in a while?" Hazel said.

"It absolutely would," Annabeth agreed. Suddenly, she was overwhelmingly tired and sad. "Listen, when Leo comes up will you tell him to set course for Delos?"

Hazel nodded. "Sure."

"Thanks," Annabeth said. "I'll be in my room if you need me."

But she didn't end up going to her room. Halfway down the hall, she changed course and headed for Percy's cabin. While he was missing, she'd spent weeks designing his cabin; working on it had helped her feel close to him while he was gone and given her hope that she'd see him again. In some ways, Percy's cabin felt more comfortable and familiar than her own.

She was sitting on the wave-patterned comforter and staring at the Minotaur horn on the wall when he came in a few minutes later.

Percy jumped. "Oh, hey, didn't expect to see you there."

"Close the door," Annabeth told him.

Percy did as she asked. "Am I in trouble or—"

Annabeth burst into tears.

"Annabeth!" Percy hurried to sit beside her. He put his arms around her. "What's wrong?"

Through her sobs, she told him what happened in the Temple of Fear. She wasn't sure how much sense she was making through her tears, but Percy didn't ask any more questions. He just held her, occasionally patting her back or smoothing her hair, until she had cried herself out.

Annabeth took a shuddery breath, then pulled back. "I'm sorry."

Percy's brow furrowed. "For what?"

"For," Annabeth fought down another sob, "Tartarus."

"What are you talking about?"

"It's my fault. If I'd just kept my mouth shut and not taunted Arachne, we never would have ended up there."

"Annabeth—"

"You wouldn't wheeze from the sulphur, my stupid ankle would have healed, we wouldn't have these _memories_. I wouldn't have gone to pieces today in that awful temple."

"Annabeth—"

"I feel _broken_, Percy. And I hate it." She blinked away more tears. "And I'm sorry you went through all that, too. I'm so sorry. It's all my—"

"_Annabeth_." Percy put his hands on her shoulders. "Stop. Just stop. You're not broken. _We _are not broken. And none of this was your fault."

"But I told Arachne—"

"Even if you'd said nothing to Arachne, that floor probably still would have collapsed after those cars fell through it. It was pretty unstable. My girlfriend's an architect, I can tell these things." The corner of his mouth turned up and Annabeth managed a tiny laugh.

"But what about—"

"Listen to me. The Doors of Death had to be closed on the Tartarus side. For whatever reason, the Fates decided you and I stood the best chance of getting that done. They were probably right, although I'm still planning to give them a nice smack upside the head if I get the chance."

"Get in line." Annabeth took a deep breath. "You're probably right."

"It was bound to happen eventually."

"But still, I'm sorry about—"

"Don't be." Percy took her face in his hands. His gaze was intense and Annabeth's heart beat faster. "I would let go of that ledge every single time. No question."

He kissed her**. **Annabeth's fear and anger began to melt away.

"Better?" Percy asked.

Annabeth smiled mischievously. "Yes, you've gotten a lot better at kissing since last August."

Percy blinked, then smirked. "Well, you know what they say about practice."

"So I've heard." Annabeth kissed him on the cheek. "But really, thank you."

Percy's expression softened. "Anytime."

Annabeth really wanted to kiss him again, but she guessed that she probably looked like a mess from crying. "Mind if I borrow your sink?"

"All yours."

The sink was made of a massive abalone shell; she'd picked it out herself. Quickly, Annabeth splashed cold water on her face, which she hoped would erase the tear tracks and make her eyes less red and puffy. When she'd dried her face and turned back around, she found Percy watching her with a strange expression. It reminded her vaguely of the way he'd looked when they'd met up at the Empire State Building, after he'd come back from bathing in the Styx.

"What's up?"

"Nothing." He gave himself a small shake. "I was just thinking."

"Dangerous thing to do," Annabeth said as she sat back down next to him.

"I know, right? But, if it makes you feel better to think of things this way, now we're even. I still owed you for taking that knife on the Williamsburg Bridge."

"You didn't owe me."

"That's not what you said at the Plaza." Percy pointed out.

Annabeth nudged him with her shoulder. "I only said that because I couldn't admit how much I cared about you at the time, Seaweed Brain."

Percy put a hand over his heart and feigned a look of surprise. "So you do care?"

"Duh, idiot."

Annabeth kissed him before he could make any other comments. A good, proper kiss, too, taking advantage of the fact that, for once, there was no one else around. She forced herself to stop thinking about the Temple of Fear, and Tartarus, and Gaea, and the Romans marching on Camp Half-Blood, and even Jason's injury and instead just focus on this moment with Percy.

Somehow, she ended up lying on the bed with Percy half on top of her, but Annabeth wasn't complaining. It felt good. She could feel his muscles beneath his t-shirt, which gave her an idea. She slid her hand down his spine and under the hem of his shirt so she could brush her fingertips over the spot where his Achilles' Heel used to be.

Percy's eyes flew open. He broke the kiss with a gasp. "Gods, Annabeth."

She pulled her hand away and sat up on her elbows. "Oh, gods, did that hurt? I thought you didn't have the curse of Achilles anymore?"

"It didn't and I don't." Percy took a deep breath. "I just didn't realize that spot was still, um, sensitive, I guess. Especially to, um, you."

Annabeth smiled slowly. "Oh really?"

"Uh-oh," Percy muttered. "But yeah, must be that whole vision of you pulling me out of the river, the thing that makes me want to stay mortal and all that. It felt like a thousand volts of electricity shooting down my nerves just now when you touched that spot. But, like, in a good way, if that makes sense."

Annabeth met his sea-green eyes. She remembered when they'd kissed in New Rome and the shiver that had run down her spine when she'd felt his arms around her again. "Yeah, Seaweed Brain, I get it."

Percy looked relieved. "Cool. So, you're going to use your power, like, responsibly, right?"

Annabeth smiled sweetly. "Of course."

"Uh-oh," Percy said again before she pulled him close and kissed him. His lips were warm and salty. For a few moments, it was nice to feel like regular teenagers hanging out, not heroes on yet another ridiculous quest.

"PUT SOME CLOTHES ON!"

Annabeth jumped. Percy lost his balance and smacked his forehead against hers.

"Ow!"

"Sorry!"

"PUT SOME CLOTHES ON!"

"Our clothes _are _on, Buford!" Percy yelled at the table through the closed door.

"DROP AND GIVE ME TWENTY, CUPCAKE!"

"I swear," Percy muttered, "I'm going to dropkick that table right over the side."

Annabeth laughed. "He'd just fly right back on board."

"Oh yeah," Percy said. "Helicopter blades."

"CUT THAT OUT!"

"Alright, Buford," Annabeth called. "We're coming out! Let me up, Percy."

Percy got a look on his face that made Annabeth instantly suspicious. It was the same expression he wore whenever he pulled a prank with Travis and Connor Stoll. "No way."

"Excuse me?"

Percy moved so that his knees were on either side of her waist and her wrists were pinned by his hands.

"Percy, what in Hades are you doing?"

Percy grinned. "You're pinned, sweetheart."

"Did you just call me sweetheart?"

"I have you pinned and that means," he leaned closer, "you have to say it."

Annabeth froze. "Absolutely not."

"That's the deal."

"I am _not_ saying it."

"LET'S GO, CUPCAKES!"

"You heard the table," Annabeth said.

"Just a sec, Buford!" Percy called. "Come on, Annabeth. At least I'm not making you say it in front of everyone."

Annabeth glared at him. Percy just grinned. It was really annoying how cute he looked. Annoying, too, how fast her pulse was racing; he could probably feel it with his hands around her wrists. "_Fine_. Percy Jackson is the single most awesomest—which is _so_ not a word—person I have ever met and he is completely superior to me in every way. Happy?"

"Thrilled." Percy gave her a quick kiss, then stood and offered her a hand to help her up. Annabeth reluctantly took it.

"PUT SOME CLOTHES ON!"

"You are still the most annoying person I've ever met," she told Percy.

"But you love me anyway, right?"

"Yeah," she admitted as they opened the door to the fuming table, "I guess I do."


	4. Chapter 4: The Storm

*****This chapter takes place during and after the storm that Kym whips up. Thanks for reading!*****

* * *

><p><strong>ANNABETH:<strong>

The storm blew in out of nowhere. The day had been cloudless, the ocean calm. Then, around mid-afternoon, the waves began to grow larger. When the waves were four feet high, Hazel clapped a hand over her mouth and headed belowdecks. When the waves grew to ten feet high, Leo strapped himself to the console with a bungee cord. When the waves started resembling buildings more than walls of water, Percy stepped in, using his powers over the water to keep the _Argo II _afloat.

And then the rain and lightning started.

"We won't last long in this!" Leo shouted from the helm. "I think we need to try to get in the air. At least then maybe we won't drown!"

"Wait, you guys aren't having fun?" Percy yelled. He summoned a massive fist of water and smashed a fifty-foot high wave.

Annabeth shook her head. Leo hit a few buttons on the console, then cursed so loudly the _venti_ swirling above probably heard him. "All this stupid water's burnt out half my circuits. We're going to have to do this manually."

Annabeth exchanged looks with Piper. "We'll get the rigging," Piper said.

"Great," Leo said. "Zhang, the aerial oars are a mess. Can you work on those?"

Frank changed into a gorilla and charged over to the railing.

"I guess that's a yes," Leo shouted after him.

Frank tossed him a gorilla thumbs-up.

After a few minutes, though, it became very clear that they were _not_ going to be able to get the ship up in the air. The storm was simply too bad. Between the waves and the increasing wind, the sails were shredded. Percy was doing what he could, but he couldn't stop every wave from crashing into the ship. One particularly massive wave smashed into the _Argo II_ with so much force Piper was swept out of the rigging. Annabeth just managed to grab her hand and keep her from falling thirty feet to the deck below.

They kept trying their best, but the storm was only getting worse. For once, Annabeth had absolutely no plan. You couldn't trick the forces of nature into not killing you.

She didn't even realize Jason had come on deck until Percy jumped into the raging sea. Before she could finish thinking, _What the heck is he doing?_, Jason had lassoed a _ventus_ and followed Percy over the side.

Piper gaped at the spot where he'd disappeared, then turned to Annabeth and shouted over the storm, "We're in love with a couple of idiots!"

"I know!"

The rigging was a lost cause. Annabeth tapped Piper on the shoulder and pointed at the deck. Piper nodded. They climbed down, trying not to get washed away. Annabeth hadn't realized just how much Percy was holding back the storm until he left. Now, wave after wave pounded the _Argo II_. Almost all the railings were gone, as well as several of the catapults and ballistae. The ship heaved and rolled like a violent rollercoaster.

Somehow, Annabeth and Piper made it to the helm, where Leo and Frank were standing.

"The Poseidon guy abandoned ship," Leo yelled. "Were we supposed to follow suit?"

"I think they went to find what's causing the storm and stop it," Annabeth shouted back.

"That's working really well," Leo replied just as another skyscraper-sized wave barreled into the ship. Annabeth would have been swept away if Frank hadn't grabbed her wrist at the last second; he and Piper were clinging to Leo's bungee cords, so all of them got snapped back against the console.

Once she stopped choking on seawater, Annabeth told Frank, "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," he said.

All the blood drained out of Leo's face. "Oh, that's not good."

"What?" Piper asked, trying to look over his shoulder at the console.

Another wave swept over the decks, but this time they all managed to grab the bungee cords.

Leo spit out a seashell. "That big wave cracked the glass bay doors in the stables."

"So, what, Nike'll wash away?" Frank asked.

"No." A chill ran down Annabeth's spine. She brushed her sodden hair out of her face. "If those doors break and all that water floods in—"

"We're sunk," Leo said grimly. "I mean, literally sunk."

"Oh gods," Piper said.

"Maybe I should go get Hazel," Frank said nervously. "We might have a better chance up—"

Thunder boomed out. A pillar of sheer electricity streaked out of the sky just off the starboard bow and disappeared straight down into the ocean.

"I'm gonna guess that was Jason," Leo said.

A thirty-foot tall wave broke right over them. Annabeth missed the bungee cord, but slammed into the side of the stairwell. Her vision went hurt. She felt as battered and bruised as she had crossing Tartarus. By the time she struggled to her feet and made her way back over to the console, she was just in time to hear Leo say, "The cracks are widening."

"Is there anything we can do about them?" Piper asked.

"Not really, unless I can find some—"

"Wait, look!" Annabeth pointed at the sea, where the waves were suddenly churning much less fiercely. Within a minute, they had dropped from being thirty-foot waves to ten-foot waves that barely broke over the _Argo II_'s sides.

Frank heaved a sigh of relief. "They must have stopped whatever was causing the storm."

"Thank the gods," Annabeth murmured. But she met Piper's eyes and knew they were both thinking the same thing. The boys had stopped the storm, but would they be coming back?

* * *

><p><strong>HAZEL:<strong>

Hazel dragged herself up the stairs just as Percy and Jason burst out of the water and landed with a splash on the deck.

"Oh good," Leo said. "You're not dead."

"No thanks to my sister," Percy muttered.

"Who?" Hazel asked.

"Kymopoleia, daughter of Poseidon, goddess of violent sea storms," Jason explained. "She was the one who was causing the storm. Turns out, she'd made a deal with Gaea. The usual terms—destroy us, get eternal glory, seas rage unchecked, blah, blah, blah."

"But then Jason promised her an action figure, so she decided to help us out," Percy said. His skin was tinged green. At first, Hazel thought it was just a trick of the post-storm light, but no, his skin was actually green.

"Wait, what?" Annabeth asked. "And, Percy, why are you green?"

Percy clapped a hand over his mouth, sprinted to what was left of the railing, and vomited spectacularly over the side of the ship.

"I'm guessing that's why," Leo said.

Jason winced. "Yeah, so Kym wasn't the only one we ran into down there. Polybotes showed up, too."

Jason told them what had happened at the bottom of the sea, about Polybotes showing up and the two of them having to fight him, until he hit Percy with some kind of poison. Percy continued to heave into the ocean. Annabeth, Hazel saw, was now standing next to her boyfriend and patting his back. To her credit, she looked much more concerned than grossed out.

"So, anyway, I offered Kym a better deal. Shrines at Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood, offerings from demigods, and, yeah, an action figure. But it was worth it to get her on our side, especially since she killed Polybotes."

"So that's another giant down," Frank said.

"Dude, you left out the part where you're going to do that for _all_ the gods." Percy was pale and clammy, but he'd stopped puking. "And so Kym called you a—I know it's not Pontiac, but what was that word?"

"A _pontifex_," Jason said. "Like, the person in charge of making sure all the gods get proper respect. Which is kind of what I volunteered to do."

Hazel and Frank exchanged shocked glances. "Wow, Jason," Frank said in a hushed voice, "that's huge."

Jason shrugged. "It's the right thing to do."

Piper smiled. "You'll be great. But how's your wound doing after all that?"

Jason and Percy exchanged grins. "Show them," Percy said.

Jason lifted his shirt. Where the wound had been was—nothing. His grin widened. "It's gone. Completely healed. Guess I finally found my own cure."

Piper threw her arms around Jason and kissed him. Leo and Frank also started grinning and Hazel exchanged relieved looks with Annabeth. Hazel hadn't realized just how worried she had been until the danger was gone. It was like a weight had been lifted off of the entire crew.

Piper smacked Jason's arm. "Don't you think maybe you should have started with that?"

Jason grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. Busy day."

"That's an understatement." Leo frowned at the console, where several different lights and warnings were flashing. "Jason, bro, I'm seriously glad you're no longer skewered. But, uh, we have some problems. That storm literally smacked the grommets out of the ship. And if you all want to continue _not sinking_, I'm going to need help making some fast repairs."

Percy threw up over the side again.

"My feelings exactly," Leo muttered.

* * *

><p><strong>ANNABETH:<strong>

Annabeth spent the next few hours running around the ship, helping Leo make repairs. They managed to keep the ship from sinking, but the real repairs were going to take time, which was the one resource they simply didn't have. The others helped with the repairs, too, as much as they could, but the majority of the work fell on Leo and Annabeth because, as Leo had said before, she was the only other one who even sort-of understood engineering. After the ship was out of immediate danger of sinking, the rest of the crew spent the day fending off countless attacks, not only by the usual _venti_ and gryphons, but now by sea serpents and other marine monsters that were taking advantage of how sluggishly the ship was moving.

To make matters worse, Percy was practically out of commission. He tried to help against the monsters, but he spent most of the day in the boys' bathroom, puking his guts out. Annabeth stopped to check on him a couple of times. When she asked if he was okay, he answered, "I'm good," through the bathroom door. This was followed immediately by retching sounds which indicated he was _not_ good. However, Annabeth let him be; there wasn't anything she could do for him, anyway.

It was long after midnight by the time Annabeth collapsed, exhausted, into bed, only to be woken up a couple hours later by the alarm blaring and a massive blue sea serpent attacking the ship. After that, she gave up on sleep and instead took over the watch with Frank and Piper.

The next day wasn't much better. Around noon, Annabeth finished reinstalling several burnt out fuses, so she went to the engine room to find Leo.

"What else can I do?" she asked Leo. Or rather, she asked Leo's legs, since his upper body was hidden in the wall. He seemed to be venting his frustrations by pounding on something with his hammer.

"What?" His voice was muffled through the wall.

She raised her voice. "What else can I do? The fuses are repaired."

"Oh, great." Leo scooted out. There were metal filaments in his hair and a long streak of motor oil down one cheek. He had a hammer in one hand and a wrench in the other, which he tapped against his chin as he looked around the engine room, taking stock. "I think we just about have things under control. Buford and I can probably take it from here."

"Are you sure?" Annabeth said. "I don't mind helping. It's nice to stay busy."

Leo tapped the wrench against his chin a few more times, then sighed. "Alright, give me about fifteen minutes to finish up what I'm doing here. Then run a couple of those system checks from the console. Tell Festus what the readouts say and he'll relay it down to me here. That'll give us an idea of what still needs work."

"Got it." Annabeth headed upstairs. Since she had some time, and since it didn't feel like anything was attacking the ship at the moment, she decided to stop by Percy's room and see how he was doing.

The answer appeared to be _not great_. He was sprawled on his bed with his arm flung over his eyes. When she sat down on the bed beside him, he said, "Hey, Annabeth," but didn't move.

"How'd you know it was me?"

"Lucky guess." His voice was hoarse, but he managed a small smile as he finally moved his arm. His eyes were bloodshot.

"You look terrible." She felt his forehead; his skin was clammy and his cheeks were still tinged pale green.

"Gee, thanks." Percy scooted so he was half sitting up, leaning against his pillow. "Believe me, I've been cursing Polybotes every time I have to sprint to the bathroom."

"Can I get you anything?"

"Nah, I'm good." He pointed to the blue Sprite sitting on his bedside table and Annabeth smiled.

"Always blue."

"It's just better that way." Percy reached out to take her hand and laced their fingers together. "So, I've had some time to think. And I realized I owe you an apology."

Annabeth tensed. "For what?"

"For what happened with Akhlys." Percy kept his eyes on their clasped hands. "I'm sorry, Annabeth. I hate that I scared you."

A tiny, painful knot of anger and resentment and worry that she hadn't even been aware she was carrying suddenly loosened in Annabeth's chest. She didn't know she'd been waiting for him to apologize until he did.

When she didn't speak, Percy continued. "Under the sea, when Polybotes hit me with that poison, I thought, well, this is it. This is my punishment for trying to suffocate Akhlys. Part of me felt like I deserved it." Percy finally raised his head to meet her eyes. He looked so tired and sad, it broke her heart. "I almost gave up, Annabeth. And I'm sorry for that, too."

Annabeth didn't say anything. She just leaned forward so she could hug him. Percy hugged her back, almost too tightly, but she didn't mind.

"We're good, Seaweed Brain. I promise." Annabeth inhaled his sea-salt scent, the smell of the ocean that always seemed to hang around him. "But you are _so _not allowed to leave me. If I have to, I will march into the Underworld and drag your butt right back to the surface myself. Got it?"

Percy laughed weakly. "Got it."

An almighty roar rang out from above them. The whole ship jerked hard to port, flinging Percy and Annabeth to the floor. The alarm bells rang out.

Percy groaned as he staggered to his feet. "Let me guess. Another freakin' sea serpent."

"Probably." Annabeth stumbled into the wall as the ship tilted again. "Maybe you should stay below."

"And miss all the fun?" Percy managed a smile. "Besides, I could always puke on it. Maybe it'd be disgusted enough to swim away."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Oh, that's hot."

"You know it." He took her hand. "Come on. Time to go kill a monster. Again."

* * *

><p><strong>HAZEL:<strong>

The ship struck the rock the next morning with so much force, Hazel was actually thrown from her bed. The groans, shrieks, and cursing coming from the other cabins suggested that her friends had similar problems. The intercom crackled to life and Buford's mini-Hedge shouted, "LOCK AND LOAD, DEMIGODS! KILL!"

"Shut up, Coach," Hazel moaned as she dragged herself to her feet.

On deck, Leo was at the helm, looking very angry in smiley-face pajama pants and no shirt, his hair sticking up every which way. Festus roared and blew flames, while Buford scrambled around with his mini-Hedge screaming and waving a holographic baseball bat.

Hazel covered her ears. "What is going on?"

"We're stuck!" Leo pounded the console with his fist. "We're stuck on a gods-blasted rock."

The rest of the crew was stumbling on deck now, everyone half-dressed in pajamas and armor.

Percy blinked. "We look like we're about to attack a slumber party."

Leo kicked the helm. "We're not attacking anything anytime soon. We're stuck. On a freaking rock. In the middle—of—the—freaking—ocean." He punctuated each word with another kick, then smacked both hands down, hard, on the controls. The ship's engine let out a piteous squeal.

Hazel and Piper exchanged looks. Leo never melted down like this. He usually managed to stay pretty cheerful. But he must have been at his breaking point. They all were.

Strangely, it was Frank who stepped in. He put a hand on Leo's shoulder. "Chill, Valdez. We'll get your ship off the rock."

Leo was still fuming—literally, smoke was coming out of his ears—but he nodded tersely. "Great, thanks. Do you have a plan?"

Annabeth padded over to the side in her bare feet and looked over. "Looks like it's just a part of the starboard side that ran aground. It shouldn't take much to get loose. But how did this rock even get here? There's no land in sight."

Everyone looked at Percy, who shrugged. "Heck if I know."

Jason's eyes narrowed. "Come to think of it, how did we manage to hit _the_ only rock in the entire ocean?"

"Because we have epically bad luck." Leo kicked the helm again.

Hazel's stomach twisted. Something about this situation felt a little too familiar; it reminded her of Sciron and his giant turtle. "Or it's a trap."

The words were barely out of her mouth when the sea serpent reared up from the depths. It was painfully bright red in the early morning light.

Percy gaped at it. "I think that's the one from Pylos. The stupid thing followed us!"

And then the second sea-serpent appeared. Followed by the third, fourth, and fifth, all of them bright, cherry Kool-Aid red. All five serpents put back their heads and screeched like a chorus of harpies.

"Fantastic," Leo said.

Percy gulped. "Anybody got a plan? Annabeth? Frank?"

"The usual." Annabeth drew her sword. "Kill the monsters and try not to get eaten in the process."

"Works for me." Piper drew her sword, too.

And then two more serpents rose out of the water.

"Oh, goody," Frank said. "One for each of us."

For the next few minutes, everything was chaos. Hazel and the others stabbed, slashed, ducked, rolled, and, in Leo's case, shot fire trying to subdue the serpents, but it wasn't working. The serpents were quick and agile. It didn't help that their scales seemed to be made of steel; every time Hazel managed to get in a hit, her sword just clanged off. Frank tried to shoot arrows into the monsters' mouths and eyes, but that didn't seem to bother them, either. Even Jason's lightning strike did nothing more than daze one of the sea serpents and only seemed to make the rest madder.

"I don't think your plan is working," Percy yelled to Annabeth as he caused a waterspout to shoot down one of the serpent's throats.

She shot him a dirty look, then dove out of the way as another serpent snapped at her. "It's half working—no one's been eaten yet!"

"Festus!" Leo shouted. "Give us some cover!"

Festus roared and a wall of fire erupted from the prow of the _Argo II._ The serpents backed off, hissing and looking hesitant to come closer to the flames.

Frank swiped a hand across his sweaty face. "We can't beat them. We need to get out of here. I think this rock is their nest."

"Agreed, Zhang." Leo punched a button on the console and the engine roared to life again. "We need to get unstuck. I have a plan. But Jason and Percy, you're not going to like it."

"Why not?" Jason asked, though he already looked resigned.

"I think I can use the rocket boosters to give us enough lift to get us off the rock," Leo said. "But I don't want to take any chances. So, gentlemen, while the girls and Frank hold off the monsters, I'm going to need you two to get out and push."

"You're kidding, right?" Percy said.

"Nope. Use the wind and water if you think it'll help."

The flames were dying down and the serpents were moving closer. They looked ready to swoop in for the kill.

"It's as good a plan as any," Hazel said.

The sea serpents threw their heads back and screeched in chorus again.

"No time to argue," Piper said. "Just do it!"

Still looking resigned, Jason took off while Percy, grumbling, jumped over the side. Leo prepped the rocket boosters. And Hazel, Frank, Piper, and Annabeth charged at the sea serpents again.

Just when Hazel was beginning to think, _This is it, we're going to be snake chow, _there was a horrible scraping noise and suddenly the _Argo II _popped free of the rock with so much force that it barreled into three of the serpents, knocking them back into the water.

"Yes!" Leo punched the air. "Free at last! Now let's get the heck out of here."

He waited to press the rocket booster button only long enough for Jason and Percy to climb back aboard. Then he punched the boosters and the ship shot forward, bouncing over the waves and throwing all of them to the deck.

As soon as her head stopped spinning, Hazel looked back to see if they were being pursued. But as soon as they were off the rock, the serpents lost all interest in the _Argo II_. They were swimming peacefully around the rock, occasionally throwing their heads back and screeching.

"What do you think?" Frank asked her.

Hazel shook her head. "Maybe they were just protecting their nests. I don't know."

As the ship slowed down again, the crew gathered around the helm. Leo winced as he looked over some readouts.

"So, yes, using the rocket boosters probably saved our lives, but it put a pretty big strain on the engine that it probably didn't need right now. And I think I'll have to wait until we get into port to fix it properly."

"How far are we from Delos?" Piper asked.

Leo checked the map. "We can probably be there by tomorrow. Which is good since today's the twenty-ninth."

Everyone got quiet. July 29. In three days, the quest would be over, one way or another.

"We can do this," Hazel said. She thought of Nike telling Frank, Percy, Leo, and her that one of the four of them would die. They had to get the cure. "We have to do this."

"We will," Frank said stoutly. Hazel smiled and took his hand.

"Yeah, we always seem to manage," Leo said, wiping his sweaty forehead. "But Jason, man, I hope you do make a Kym action figure. Because then I'm going to get me one and smash it with a hammer."

"Or a rock," Frank said.

Leo raised his eyebrows. "You know, Zhang, I think there's hope for you yet."


	5. Chapter 5: Girl Talk

*****So, on Rick Riordan's website, there's a diagram of the **_**Argo II**_** and it describes Piper's room as the place where the girls hang out. A scene with just the three girls hanging out was one that I really wanted to be in **_**Blood of Olympus**_**, but sadly it wasn't there, probably because it would have slowed the plot down. But that's where fanfic comes in! Hope you enjoy reading this chapter! **

**Disclaimer: These characters don't belong to me, I'm just borrowing them briefly.*****

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><p><strong>HAZEL:<strong>

Piper's room had become the unofficial hang-out spot for the girls on the _Argo II_. That night, Piper, Annabeth, and Hazel barricaded themselves there after telling the boys not to bother them unless it was a life or death situation. Hazel figured that gave them maybe an hour.

"I miss the cornucopia," Annabeth said. She was leaning against the headboard of Piper's bed and nibbling on a blue corn chip.

"Yeah, too bad I had to sacrifice it to my immortal half-brothers so they would help kill that giant who was trying to smash us into pancakes." Piper was sitting cross-legged near the middle of her bed with a bowl of popcorn in her lap.

"That's almost a good enough reason to get rid of our best source of snacks," Annabeth said with a straight face. She didn't crack until Piper threw a handful of popcorn at her, then she grinned.

Sitting at the foot of the bed, Hazel giggled. "I kind of agree, though. It's not the same when it's just the stuff we took from the mess hall. It was like the cornucopia always knew exactly what we wanted."

"Or maybe that was just me." Piper closed her eyes and wiggled her fingers at Hazel. "I am sensing that you are in need of…something sweet!" She opened her eyes and pretended to produce a packet of M&M's with a flourish.

"Gee, thanks," Hazel said, taking the M&M's. "Those totally weren't sitting right next to your foot or anything."

All three of them laughed. Hazel liked hanging out with just Piper and Annabeth. She loved the guys, too, but it was relaxing to have some girl time. Which mostly just involved eating snacks and chatting. That reminded Hazel of something she'd wanted to tell her friends.

"So, the guys apparently have no idea what we do in here," she said. "Leo asked me the other day if we had pillow fights and braided each other's hair."

Piper rolled her eyes. "He's so ridiculous."

"Percy asked me something similar the other day," Annabeth said. "I told him, of course not, but he kept pestering me, so finally I told him we were practicing kissing. His eyes practically bugged out of his head."

Hazel accidentally snorted Coke up her nose when she laughed, which made Piper and Annabeth laugh even harder than they already were.

When she could breathe again, Hazel asked, "Did he actually believe you?"

"Sadly, yes." Annabeth leaned forward to grab a blue peanut M&M from the bowl in the middle of the bed. "Until I told him that, obviously, I was just joking. I swear, sometimes it's so easy it's almost not fun."

Hazel and Piper exchanged the tiniest of glances. Annabeth never seemed to realize that she gravitated towards the blue food and they hadn't told her. It was cute, though. Hazel wondered if she'd picked up any unconscious habits from Frank. Maybe it was too soon.

"Alright," Piper brushed her hands off on her jeans, "do you guys want to do Best/Worst?"

Best/Worst was something Piper and Hazel had come up with while Annabeth and Percy were in Tartarus and they were sailing around the Adriatic Sea. Basically, you had to pick what you thought the best moment and the worst moment of the day were. The game worked because it forced you to focus on something positive, but also allowed you to rant about what had gone wrong, which, for the demigods, was usually something major.

"Sure," Annabeth said. "But I have an idea. Since today was basically all about those sea serpents and that stupid rock, what if we played Best/Worst with the entire quest? I mean, for better or worse, it's going to be over in just a couple of days."

Hazel nodded slowly. "I like it. Piper?"

Piper smiled. "I'm in. It's kind of challenging, too, condensing the entire quest into one best and one worst moment."

"Yeah, definitely." Hazel was thinking hard. Her best and worst moments of the entire quest? From the time they had left Camp Jupiter until now? "Give me a minute."

"Me too." Piper looked at Annabeth. "You already have your moments, don't you?"

"Maybe." Annabeth smiled a little nervously and tucked her hair behind her ear. "But mine are pretty easy."

"Let's hear them." Piper gestured for her to go on.

"Okay." Annabeth took a deep breath. "I'm just going to get the worst over with. Tartarus. Obviously. And the worst of that whole bunch of horribleness was watching Percy suffocate Akhlys with that poison. Because I thought I was going to lose him. And, I mean, he almost died, several times, but this was worse. I don't want to lose him at all, but I _couldn't_ lose him that way. It was just too much like—like—"

"Like Luke," Piper said softly.

Annabeth's shoulders slumped. "Yeah, exactly."

They were quiet for a moment. Hazel didn't know the entire story about Luke Castellan, the demigod who had given himself to Kronos, but who before that had been a friend to Annabeth, Percy, and Jason's older sister, Thalia. But she'd learned enough from Annabeth and Piper over the past few weeks to understand just how scared Annabeth must have been when she'd seen Percy giving in to the same horrible impulses.

"He apologized," Annabeth continued. "Percy, I mean. Yesterday. He said he was sorry he scared me. That helped, because I didn't realize how angry I still was about the whole thing until he apologized. But I think we're good now."

"Good." Piper smiled and squeezed Annabeth's hand. "So, what's your best moment?"

"Oh." Annabeth blushed. "That's easy, too. And a little embarrassing. But my best moment of the quest was the night Percy and I accidentally spent in the stables. It was just nice to be with him, after we'd been apart for so long. And I swear, we just went down there to talk!"

Piper and Hazel gave Annabeth do-you-really-expect-us-to-believe-that looks.

She threw up her hands. "Okay, fine, we may have kissed a couple times. Happy?"

Piper grinned. "Yes."

"Percy told Frank that when he found you guys," Hazel pointed out. "But Frank was too embarrassed to give you guys a hard time."

Annabeth's cheeks were as bright red as the sea serpents from earlier. "Anyway, those are my best and worst moments. Who's next?"

Piper raised her hand. "I'll go. Worst first, to get it over with. It was a toss-up between the nymphaeum in Rome, Jason getting stabbed by Varus, and Kansas, but I'm going with the boys fighting in Kansas, because that was the absolute most helpless I've ever felt. And there was one horrible moment where I couldn't find my voice and I almost let Jason kill Percy." She glanced at Annabeth. "I'm sorry about that, by the way."

Annabeth shook her head. "If you think I'm going to hold that against you at this point, you're crazy. You've saved the lives of everyone on this ship over and over again."

Piper's cheeks were now tinged slightly pink. "Still. Anyway, that's my worst moment. If it hadn't been for Blackjack, I don't know what would have happened." All three of them shuddered.

"The eidolons in general were horrible," Hazel said. "It was awful when they attacked us in the Pantheon, too."

Annabeth made the ancient sign for warding off evil. "If I never run into those things again, I'll be perfectly happy with that."

"For sure," Piper agreed. "So, moving on to my best moment, because I don't want to talk about the eidolons anymore."

"Totally fine with that," Hazel said. "What was your best moment?"

"My best moment is this," Piper said, gesturing around the room. "The quiet moments. The three of us hanging out. Or when I get a moment alone with Jason. Or the other night, when Leo made his tofu tacos. Nothing attacked and it was just the seven of us hanging out. Those are my best moments."

Annabeth and Hazel both smiled. "I like those moments, too," Hazel said.

"Definitely," Annabeth agreed. "Plus, my gods, Leo can make a mean taco."

"They were really good," Hazel said.

"I remember the first time he made those for us," Piper said. "It was in Chicago, before we went into Medea's department store. We were freezing, sitting in this semi-decent sewer, and my ankle was killing me because it was still healing after I broke it in Detroit. And then Leo made these tofu and pepper tacos out of apparently nothing." Piper blinked quickly. "Gods, that feels like a hundred years ago."

Annabeth patted her shoulder. "A lot has changed since December."

Piper gave a shaky laugh. "That might be the understatement of the millennium."

Hazel had to agree. Last December, she had still been the timid new _probatio_, trying to avoid flashbacks and not draw attention to herself. Gods, she hadn't even met Frank yet. Or Percy or Piper or Annabeth or Leo. All of these people who she now couldn't imagine _not_ having in her life.

Annabeth cleared her throat. "Okay, Hazel, your turn. Best and worst moments of the quest."

Hazel took a deep breath. "Worst moment. I had to think about this, because there were several, but I think the absolute worst was the moment in the House of Hades, when the elevator doors dinged for you and Percy, and I didn't think we were going to be able to reach the button in time."

"I didn't know about that," Annabeth said.

Hazel winced. "Yeah, there was so much going on afterwards that I don't think we really brought it up, but that was definitely awful. Pasiphae and Clytius were preventing Leo and me from getting close to the Doors. But then Leo pulled out this screwdriver and made an absolutely _amazing_ throw."

Annabeth's gray eyes were huge. "Seriously?"

"Oh, yeah." Hazel nodded enthusiastically. "Of course, I knew he wouldn't miss. He was determined to make up for the fortune cookie."

Piper frowned. "What fortune cookie?"

Hazel clapped a hand over her mouth. She'd forgotten that no one really knew about the fortune cookie that Nemesis, the revenge goddess, had given to Leo. He'd opened it to get the code to an Archimedes sphere so that he could rescue Hazel and Frank from the eidolons, but he'd been convinced that the price had been sending Percy and Annabeth to Tartarus. Realizing she didn't have much choice, Hazel told this story to Annabeth and Piper. By the end of it, they both looked stunned.

"Oh, Leo," Piper whispered

"He doesn't really believe it's his fault, does he?" Annabeth asked weakly. "I mean, that's crazy. It's _so_ not his fault."

"I tried to tell him that," Hazel said. "But he was sure that was the price for opening the cookie."

Annabeth's mouth set in a determined line. "I have to talk to him. Not, like, this second, but soon. Unless—I mean, unless you don't want him to know you told, Hazel."

Hazel considered this. "No, I think it's okay."

"That boy." Piper shook her head and sighed. "Okay, Hazel, you still have to do your best moment."

"Oh, right." Hazel gave herself a little shake to get her mind back to thinking happy thoughts. "My best moment. Honestly, I think it was after the House of Hades, when we were all sitting on the hillside. Everyone was together again and Frank had just become praetor and I just remember feeling really relieved that we'd all made it out. I guess that's kind of like your best moment, Piper."

Piper smiled at her. "Actually, I was just thinking that we all picked simple things for our best moments."

"Yeah, well, when you're almost always about to die, it really makes you appreciate the little moments," Annabeth said.

Piper and Hazel laughed.

"True." Piper raised her Coke can. "I say we toast to that. The little moments that are worth fighting for."

Annabeth and Hazel raised their drink cans, too, and they clinked them together.

They had barely finished their drinks when the ship shook like something heavy had crashed into it. Alarm bells began to ring and Hazel could hear the guys shouting on deck. She, Piper, and Annabeth exchanged looks, then they scrambled up and grabbed their swords, which were standing by Piper's door. Girl talk was over. Time to get back to fighting.

But at least, Hazel thought as she drew her sword and followed her friends down the hallway, Best/Worst always reminded her why she was fighting. It was the little moments, the good moments, with people you cared about, that made all the fighting worth it.


	6. Chapter 6: Mykonos and Epidaurus

*****Thanks again for the reviews, follows, and favorites! Hope you enjoy reading this chapter! Leo's POV snuck into the middle of this one. The next chapter should be up Friday, January 23.*****

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><p><strong>ANNABETH:<strong>

The next day, Annabeth was more than happy to volunteer herself and Percy for scouting duty on Mykonos. She thought they could both use the time off the ship. And Mykonos, as it turned out, was a beautiful island, possibly her favorite so far. The water was so crystal clear she could see the coral reefs on the ocean floor. The buildings were white-washed, glowing in the sun, and on a distant hill several windmills stood sentinel, lazily turning in the breeze. It was nice to walk through the twisting streets with Percy, holding hands and watching the pelicans that were wandering in and out of the shops.

"What are they, like the town's mascots or something?" Percy asked. They were leaving a small café where they'd stopped for some cold drinks and he almost tripped over a pelican as they were walking out the door. The pelican puffed up its chest and fluttered its wings, giving Percy a very offended look. "Uh, sorry, bird."

Annabeth laughed. "Maybe they are mascots. The locals don't seem to mind them."

Percy shook his head. "Weird."

A little further up the street, they stumbled on a tiny park. There were a few trees, a stone bench, and not much else. On the plus side, the place was free of both tourists and locals. Annabeth glanced at Percy. His dark hair was windswept and the sunlight made his sea-green eyes sparkle. His skin had nearly lost the greenish hue from the poison. It had been days since they'd kissed, what with Percy throwing up every hour or so.

He seemed to be thinking along the same lines. "You know, I haven't puked since yesterday, before dinner."

Annabeth bit back a smile. Subtlety had never been one of Percy's skills. "Have you brushed your teeth since then?"

"Five times."

"Good enough." She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. Percy responded enthusiastically, hugging her tight. He tasted minty, like toothpaste. For just a moment, everything was perfect.

"Wow." Percy looked dazed when she pulled away. "Seriously, that makes me feel about ten times better."

"Good." Annabeth kissed him again. "But now we should probably head back to the ship. I don't think there's much to report about this island."

They got turned around on the way back to the docks, though, and ended up in the "Little Italy" section of town.

"A 'Little Italy' in Greece?" Percy scratched his head. "Wouldn't have expected that."

"Not at all." Annabeth spotted a small gelato stand nearby. The ice cream looked amazing. She pointed it out to Percy. "What do you think? Should we bring some back for the others?"

Percy grinned. "Oh yeah."

Ten minutes later, balancing three gelato cups a piece (Frank was lactose intolerant), they made their way back to the ship.

* * *

><p>After Hazel, Frank, and Leo left for Delos, Percy asked, "So, anybody else want lunch?"<p>

"You literally _just_ had gelato," Annabeth told him.

"That was dessert," Percy explained. "I'm still hungry."

"I could eat," Jason said.

Piper and Annabeth exchanged exasperated looks. _Boys._

But, in the end, they agreed to an on-deck picnic lunch. Leo had repaired the stabilizers, so even though the water was choppy, the ship was pretty stable. And it was just windy enough to keep from being too hot. Annabeth had to admit, it was kind of nice, the four of them just hanging out.

"It's almost like a double date," she observed.

Piper smiled. "Maybe we should do a real one of those, when we get back to New York."

"I'm in," Percy said. "Assuming, you know, we survive the next few days."

"Way to be optimistic, man," Jason told him with a grin.

The day was going well, overall, nothing had even attacked them, but as soon as Hazel and the guys came back, Annabeth knew something was wrong.

"Were you crying?" Piper asked Hazel, whose eyes were puffy.

Annabeth thought Hazel was going to deny it. Frank and Leo both looked tense. Then, Hazel nodded. "Yeah, I was. We got some bad news on Delos."

Maybe it was Annabeth's imagination, but for a moment, Leo looked alarmed. As Hazel continued speaking, though, his expression turned briefly to relief, then neutral.

Hazel explained about the onagers Octavian had ordered and was planning to point at Camp Half-Blood. Annabeth's stomach heaved. "He's going to obliterate the Greeks? How can he possibly justify that?"

Frank shook his head. "I don't know. I knew he was a jerk, but I never realized it was this bad. He's completely twisted."

Jason's jaw clenched. "So Octavian will wipe out Camp Half-Blood, then his monstrous so-called _allies_ will destroy the legion. I swear, if I ever get my hands on that little punk—"

"We have to trust Reyna and Nico. And the coach," Piper said. "If they can get the statue to Long Island, there might still be a chance to stop this war."

Hazel winced. "Yeah, Artemis gave us some information about that, too. Nico, Reyna, and Hedge are fine," she added hastily at the others' alarmed looks. "They were in San Juan, Puerto Rico with the statue, but they're being pursued by Orion, one of the giants."

"So they made it across the Atlantic," Percy said.

The name Orion sent a shiver down Annabeth's spine. She remembered Thalia telling her about the giant hunter, the last time she'd visited Camp Half-Blood. "But if Orion is after them, that's bad. Really, really bad."

"It is. Apparently the Amazons and the Hunters of Artemis helped them fight the giant in San Juan and," Hazel took a deep breath, "according to Artemis, it was a massacre."

Annabeth turned cold at these words. "Thalia?"

Jason grunted like he'd been punched in the stomach. His face was pale.

"Artemis _thinks_ she's okay," Frank said. "The goddess is hoping they'll regroup and go after Orion again, but she also doesn't want the Hunters to be wiped out before she can help them."

"And you said the Amazons were there, too, in Puerto Rico?" Percy asked.

Hazel nodded. "Hylla wanted to help Reyna. Artemis thinks Hylla survived, but do you guys remember Kinzie?" She looked at Frank and Percy.

"The Amazon who single-handedly took down Frank and me, then later told me to keep her in mind if I ever needed a new girlfriend," Percy said. "Sure, I remember her, why—oh."

A tear traced its way down Hazel's cheek.

"I hate to ask this," Piper said, "but did Reyna, Nico, and the coach get away with the statue?"

"Yeah," Frank said gloomily. "But Artemis didn't know where they went. Just that they left Puerto Rico."

A heavy sense of despair settled over the crew. The impossibility of the situation and what they were facing seemed to be hitting them all at once. Grief and fear threatened to choke Annabeth. She tried to fight down the emotions, but it wasn't working.

_Don't try to fight your feelings. Just let them wash over you and drain out again. _Piper's words of advice in Sparta came to Annabeth again. She took a shuddery breath, allowing the miserable feelings to wash over her. She counted to five in her head, then took another breath. Better.

"Guys, I know this wasn't the news we wanted to hear," Annabeth said. The others all turned to look at her. She didn't try to hide the fact that she was shaken up. "But the best way we can help our friends and Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter and _everyone_ is by focusing on our quest. We have to defeat the giants and Gaea. That's our job."

Leo nodded. "She's right. Priorities. Which reminds me," he pulled a small, yellow daisy from his pocket, "we found the curse of Delos."

"That's a flower," Percy said.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious." Leo flourished the flower with a brave attempt at his usual swagger. "This flower was picked by Apollo himself. Apparently the curse has to do with him and Artemis being born on the island, or something like that. Anyway, point is, we have all the ingredients. And Apollo told me where to find his son Asclepius, who will hopefully whip us up some death cure."

"Great," Annabeth said. "How soon can we get there?"

"Tomorrow," Leo said.

"You realize tomorrow is July thirty-first," Jason pointed out.

"Yeah, I know. But we need to be able to fly to get to where the medicine god is and to get to the Parthenon. And that's going to require a few more repairs. I can knock them out tonight, though." A determined, almost manic, gleam lit Leo's eyes. Annabeth believed he'd get everything finished.

"While you're working on that," Frank said, "maybe the rest of us can start checking the supplies and prepping things for, you know, the battle."

_Which is the day after tomorrow_. Frank didn't say it, but looking at everyone's faces, Annabeth knew they were all thinking it.

Leo tucked the flower securely into his tool belt. "Let's get to work."

* * *

><p><strong>LEO:<strong>

Around midnight, Annabeth came into the engine room. Leo didn't even hear her walk in. He was focused on calibrating the balance of Styx water to Greek fire in the engine, which would hopefully give them an extra boost when they took off tomorrow. So when Annabeth said, "Hey, Leo," he jumped so hard he nearly dropped both vials of extremely volatile substances.

"Gorgon's grommets!" He managed to keep the Greek fire from slipping out of its spot and shattering all over the floor, but the Styx water toppled out of his hand. Luckily, Annabeth caught it a few inches from the floor.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to startle you." She handed him back the vial of Styx water. "I was actually just coming down here to see if you could use any help."

"Just a sec." Leo's heart was still pounding. He waited for his fingers to get steady again, then finished fitting the Greek fire into its spot. Carefully, he reattached the Styx water to its position, then backed away. "Okay. We're good."

"Sorry," Annabeth said again.

Leo waved away the apology. "It's cool. I just wasn't expecting anyone to walk in."

Annabeth gave him a sideways smile. "'Gorgon's grommets'?"

"First thing that popped into my head."

They stood quietly for a minute, inspecting the engine. After eight hours of work, and a very quick break for dinner, Leo almost had the engine back in working order and ready to fly. He just needed to finish up a few last things.

"Nearly there," he mused. "Just a couple more tweaks to make."

"Which brings me back to my original reason for coming down here," Annabeth said. "Can I help?"

Leo's knee-jerk reaction when someone asked him this question was to make a joke and send the asker on their way. But with Annabeth it was different. She actually understood about mechanics; he didn't have to direct her as much as he did some of the others. And, as it turned out, Leo _did _need help. "Actually, yeah, if you want to. I was going to get Buford to help, but he's sulking in the corner."

"Why?"

"I told him to knock it off with the mini-Hedge. He kept yelling at me to do push-ups."

Annabeth actually laughed at that, which kind of surprised Leo. Over in his corner, Buford vented an irritated burst of steam. _That _didn't surprise Leo at all.

"Sorry, Buford," Annabeth said. "But, gods, that mini-Hedge."

Leo grinned. "It seemed like a good idea at the time."

"Oh, it's definitely a good _idea_," Annabeth agreed. "Carrying it out was the questionable part."

Leo was almost offended, until he realized she was teasing him. "Well, I couldn't let an idea that good go to waste."

"I can appreciate that," Annabeth said. "So, what still needs work?"

Two hours later, they had the engine back in working order. Leo wasn't sure it would stand up to an aerial battle with a dragon or anything, but it should be able to fly them to Epidaurus and Athens. He was surprised by how easy it was to work with Annabeth; almost as easy as it had been to work with Calypso.

At the thought of Calypso, Leo's heart twisted. He hoped his insane plan would help him get back to her, but there were no guarantees.

Feeling suddenly agitated, he pulled a few pieces of wire and metal from his tool belt and began twisting them together, not making anything in particular, just for something to do. "Alright, I think we're about done here. I just need to go on deck and run a couple diagnostic tests, but we should be ready to fly tomorrow."

"Great," Annabeth said. "Don't _ever_ tell Percy this, but I'm kind of sick of sailing."

Leo chuckled. "Your secret is safe with me."

"Thanks, Leo. For everything." She kissed him on the cheek, which caught him completely off guard. From Piper or Hazel, it would have been no surprise, but he didn't expect the gesture from Annabeth. He must have looked pretty surprised, because she smiled. "Hazel told me about your epic screwdriver throw. If you hadn't opened the Doors of Death, well, let's just say it would not have been good for Percy's and my health. So, thank you."

Leo glanced down to make sure that his nose wasn't on fire; his face felt hot. "Yeah, well, what are friends for. Besides," he cleared his throat, "it's my fault you guys ended up there, anyway."

Annabeth's eyes narrowed. "Is this about the fortune cookie?"

"How did you know about that?"

"Hazel might have let something slip. Also, Piper and I may have made her tell us the whole story. But, Leo, it wasn't your fault."

"It was the price," he insisted. "Nemesis told me there would be a price. I saved Frank and Hazel, but it cost us you and Percy. I figured I would have to pay the price myself or I never would have opened that stupid cookie."

"Leo. Tartarus was not your fault. Trust me." Annabeth leaned against the wall of the engine room; she suddenly looked guilty. "If it was anybody's fault, it was mine."

"Because you didn't cut the silk off? None of us—"

"No, although that was pure stupidity. I should have cut it off right away. But I insulted Arachne, right before you guys broke through. If I'd kept my mouth shut, she wouldn't have tried to bring down the shrine, which completely destabilized it."

Leo couldn't believe what he was hearing. Annabeth blamed _herself_ for the fact that she and Percy fell into Tartarus? That didn't compute with Leo's version of events, where he broke open a cookie and condemned his friends to hell. When he didn't say anything, she sighed.

"Percy said he doesn't blame me. The Doors of Death _had_ to be closed on the Tartarus side and he said the Fates probably figured we were the best people for the job. Maybe that's true; I don't know. But even if he doesn't blame me, _I_ blame me, you know?" She looked at Leo.

His throat was dry. "Yeah, I know. I'm the freaking king of blaming myself for things. Like, even though it was technically the eidolon, I still feel responsible for blowing up New Rome and setting this whole quest off wrong. Not to mention starting a war between the Romans and Greeks that might still get everyone I care about killed."

Where the heck had that come from? Leo had never said that out loud to anyone. He'd barely even acknowledged to himself that he felt that way. Avoiding Annabeth's eyes, he focused his attention back on the wire and metal pieces, which his hands were forming into a shape almost of their own accord.

Annabeth was quiet for so long Leo almost thought she'd left the room until she spoke. "It's not going to help if I tell you that wasn't your fault, either, is it?"

Leo snorted. "Probably not."

"I didn't think so." Annabeth hesitated, then said, "The truth is, sometimes being a hero just epically sucks."

Leo looked at her. "Now _that _is wise."

"But we have to keep going anyway. Sometimes heroes screw up. We just have to find a way to make amends. And sometimes, maybe we just need to let things go."

"Possibly." Leo smiled. "Are you going to take your own advice?"

"Yeah, I guess." Annabeth smiled ruefully. "Even though that's much harder than giving it."

"Sad truth." Leo looked down at the shape in his hands, then laughed. "Here, I think I may have made this for you."

Annabeth took the tiny metal owl. "You didn't realize what you were making?"

"Nope. It happens sometimes, like when I made the Valdezinator for Apollo."

"The Valdezinator?"

"Only the greatest musical instrument the world has ever known."

"I see." Annabeth studied the little owl. "What is it? I mean, I know it's an owl, but—"

Suddenly, Leo realized what he had made. "It's a _milagro_. Kind of a Mexican good luck charm. They're supposed to protect, or ward off evil, or all kinds of different things. Sometimes people put them on saints' shrines, as an offering."

Annabeth looked surprised. "Really? Are you sure you don't want to keep it?"

"Nah. It's yours. Mine would need to be, like, a hammer or a guy with his head on fire."

"Well, thanks, Leo. Again." Annabeth slipped the owl into the pocket of her jeans. "Listen, if everything is good with the engine, I'm going to go on deck and see if Jason or Hazel want a break from watch."

"Yeah, all good here," Leo said. "I'll be up in a minute to run my diagnostics."

"See you up there." As she left, Annabeth gave Leo a genuine smile, which he returned.

It was funny, he thought as he cleaned up his tools and gave Buford a peace offering rubdown with Lemon Pledge. Annabeth Chase had always intimidated him. But after tonight, she seemed much more human. He actually thought they could be good friends. Provided they all lived through the next few days. Maybe, Leo thought as he left the engine room, he should make _milagros _for the whole crew. They could definitely use some good luck and a whole lot of protection.

* * *

><p><strong>HAZEL: <strong>

Hazel had her drawing pad out the next day. She was making a rough sketch of Frank and Annabeth, both intently focused on their chess match. Piper, Jason, and Leo had just left to get the physician's cure from Asclepius. Hazel really didn't like the feel of whatever was at the bottom of that tunnel, but she trusted her friends could handle it.

She'd nearly finished her sketch when Percy came back on deck. He'd run off to throw up again, a residual effect of the poison Polybotes had hit him with. Frank and Annabeth, absorbed in their game, didn't even acknowledge him as he dropped down next to Hazel.

"Still sick?" Hazel asked.

"Yeah. Polybotes can suck it." Percy glanced sympathetically at Hazel. "Is this how you've felt the entire trip?"

"Pretty much."

"That's miserable."

"Pretty much."

Frank moved one of his knights, putting Annabeth's queen in danger. Annabeth studied the board, then intercepted his attack with her bishop.

"We've all had to make sacrifices," Hazel said. "And being seasick is a pretty minor one. I have a feeling worse are coming."

Percy's expression darkened, like storm clouds rolling in over the sea. "Yeah, I know. But that's why the others are down there hopefully getting the physician's cure, right? So we can at least avoid one sacrifice."

Hazel couldn't look at him. Guilt and sadness swelled in her chest every time she thought of Leo's plan. Even though she believed the plan might be their best bet, that didn't make her hate it any less.

Some of this must have shown on her face because Percy patted her back. "No matter what happens tomorrow, Hazel Levesque, I'm glad we met."

She was able to turn then and give him a real smile. "Me too."

Percy gave her a one-armed hug just as Frank yelled gleefully, "Checkmate!"

"What?" Annabeth said.

"Oh, this should be good," Percy whispered to Hazel. "The last time someone beat her, she overturned the board."

Hazel stifled a giggle as Annabeth's eyes narrowed, flickering over the chess pieces. "Who beat her?"

"Me, believe it or not."

"No way!"

"Way. I told you, the _Graecus_ has some moves."

"Plus, he cheated," Annabeth said, eyes still on the board. "Percy, I mean, not Frank. Frank just won fair and square. Good game." They shook hands. "Also, I want a rematch."

"Deal." Frank grinned. "So how did Percy cheat?"

"My wonderful girlfriend _thinks_ I switched the position of one of my pawns with my queen when she wasn't looking." Percy winked at Hazel. "But she can't prove it. And it's been driving her crazy."

"Has not." Annabeth sniffed. "Besides, I have better things to do than worry about my cheating boyfriend. Wait—that came out wrong."

The four of them were still laughing a couple minutes later when Piper, Jason, and Leo returned.

"What's so funny?" Piper asked.

"Percy cheated," Hazel giggled.

"Seriously?" Leo asked. "Who'd he cheat with, a sea bass?"

"He's had several affairs with fish," Annabeth said, completely straight-faced. "I try to look the other way."

"That," Jason said solemnly, "explains a lot."

"Now, hold on a sec," Percy started to say, but Annabeth cut him off.

"So, did you get the cure?"

"Yep," Leo said. "Let's head to the mess hall and we'll tell you the whole story. It involves statues set to idiot mode."

Frank groaned. "Of course it does."

* * *

><p>Frank and Hazel took first watch after dinner. They'd volunteered on purpose. Guilt churned in Hazel's stomach at the same steady pace as the aerial oars chugging through the sky. The two of them stood next to Festus at the prow.<p>

"Did we do the right thing?" Frank's voice was hushed, even though everyone else was below decks.

"I think so. I hate lying to the others, but Leo's plan might be the only way." Hazel brushed her fingers lightly over Festus's bronze scales. The dragon creaked reassuringly. "We have to trust him."

"Scary thought." Frank stared straight ahead. The moonlight made his skin glow like an alabaster statue. "But Leo is right. I _hate_ the plan. But I think he's right."

Hazel brushed a tear off her cheek and leaned against Frank. He wrapped an arm around her. The night was quiet and the stars were coming out. For a moment, Hazel could pretend that the end of the world was much farther away than tomorrow morning.


	7. Chapter 7: Athens

*****Hi all, here's Chapter Seven. It takes place in Athens and is told entirely in Annabeth's POV. Hope you enjoy reading! The eighth and final chapter should be up early next week. Also, just as a disclaimer, none of this belongs to me and there are a few lines of dialogue taken directly from Rick Riordan's **_**Blood of Olympus**_** and one line taken directly from **_**The Lightning Thief**_**.*****

* * *

><p><strong>ANNABETH:<strong>

Leo woke everyone up at the crack of dawn on August first by announcing through the ship's speakers, "Rise and shine! It's G-day. Time to storm the beaches, boys and girls."

Annabeth hurried to get dressed, which included putting on her armor. Then she headed up to check on the battle preparations.

Frank was stacking ballistae bolts next to the repaired forward ballista. Jason was flying around the mast, checking the rigging, while Leo was at the helm, fiddling with the Archimedes sphere. At the railing, Piper was looking out over the city, keeping watch.

Athens.

Annabeth couldn't quite believe they were here. After all this time, they'd arrived at their destination. She was going to see the Parthenon. If only it were under happier circumstances.

Percy came on deck eating a donut. His armor was crooked, the left side hanging down several inches lower than the right. He popped the last bite of donut in his mouth as he looked around the ship, taking in the activity. His eyes fell on Annabeth and he smiled as he walked over to her.

"Morning." He kissed her cheek.

"Seaweed Brain, how is it that after five summers of wearing armor, you still manage to put it on crooked?"

Percy glanced down. "Huh. Good question. Can you…?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Come here."

She tightened the left straps on his shoulder, then loosened the right until his armor hung straight. "There. Much better."

"Thanks," Percy said. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

Considering what they were about to walk into, that statement carried a little too much weight. A part of Annabeth wanted to say, "I _was_ without you, for six months, and it sucked," but she doubted that would help morale at the moment.

Instead, she swallowed the lump in her throat, forced a smile, and said, "Obviously, you'd wear crooked armor and look ridiculous."

Percy grinned. Just then, Piper called, "Um…Annabeth?"

Annabeth glanced at Percy, then the two of them went to join Piper at the railing.

* * *

><p>Annabeth didn't trust the snake people. And she <em>really <em>didn't like being in the sewer tunnels, especially with the heartbeat of Gaea pounding in her ears. But it was their best chance to attack. Not a good chance, necessarily, just their best one. Piper's singing helped calm Annabeth's nerves somewhat, but it was still a relief when they reached the underground temple and left Kekrops and the rest of the gemini behind.

And then Annabeth realized where they were standing.

A chill washed over her. Goosebumps rose on her arms. She knelt and, fingers trembling, touched the thick gouges embedded in the stone. "This is the place. Percy, these are the trident marks of Poseidon."

Percy knelt beside her and tentatively ran his own hand over the marks. "He must've been using his extra-extra-large trident." _Seaweed Brain_.

Annabeth was in awe as she stood up. This was the place. Thousands of years ago, her mother and Percy's father had stood on this spot and competed to be the patron of the city. Athena and Poseidon had been rivals ever since. She remembered, ages ago, being on a train with Percy as they'd crossed the Mississippi River into St. Louis and he'd pleaded with her, _Can't we work together a little?_ She had been hesitant to befriend him, because of the ancient rivalry that began on this spot. Now, of course, she was glad she'd taken the chance. But she still couldn't quite believe they were standing here.

"This is where he struck the earth," Annabeth said, "where he made a saltwater spring appear when he had the contest with my mom to sponsor Athens."

Percy rose to his feet. He was giving her a strange look. "So this is where the rivalry started."

"Yeah."

Percy put his arm around her waist. Before Annabeth fully realized what was happening, he pulled her close and kissed her. _Really _kissed her. Fierce and sweet and _awesome. _Annabeth's nerves were on fire, but in the best way. She forgot about Piper standing there. She forgot about the giants and Gaea. She forgot to breathe. Nothing mattered except _Percy_.

When he finally pulled away, she gasped for air. It was a good thing he still had his arm around her, because her knees were literally weak.

And then her ridiculous boyfriend made the moment perfect.

"The rivalry ends here. I love you, Wise Girl."

Warmth washed over Annabeth, melting her brain, her heart, everything, right down into her toes. She wanted to say, "I love you, too," but her head was still spinning from the kiss and she couldn't quite articulate the thought. What she really wanted to do was kiss him again, but unfortunately they had a stupid battle to fight.

"Sorry," she heard Percy tell Piper, "I had to do that."

But Piper was beaming. "How could a daughter of Aphrodite not approve? You're a great boyfriend."

_Yeah, he is_. But now was not the time to focus on that. Annabeth took a step away from Percy to clear her head. "Uh…anyway. We're beneath the Erechtheion. It's a temple to both Athena and Poseidon. The Parthenon should be catty-corner to the southeast. We'll need to sneak around the perimeter and disable as many siege weapons as we can, make an approach path for the _Argo II_."

"It's broad daylight," Piper pointed out. "How will we go unnoticed?"

Annabeth looked up. If everything went according to plan... "That's why I made a plan with Frank and Hazel. Hopefully…ah. Look."

And then Swarm of Bees Frank showed up and Hazel turned them all into Earthborn.

* * *

><p>Percy had been completely right. Splitting up even more was stupid. But Annabeth had suspicions she hadn't shared with the rest of the crew, the same suspicions that led her to suggest that she and Percy should be the ones to follow the gemini to the Parthenon.<p>

Because it was the obvious strategy.

Which meant that the giants were probably expecting them to use it.

Annabeth was fully aware they were most likely walking into a trap. However, she hoped that by doing the obvious, they would deflect the giants' attention from the much less obvious. She doubted the giants would expect the demigods to utilize Frank's shape-changing and Hazel's Mist abilities to disguise themselves. And Annabeth hoped that by splitting up further, even if she and Percy were caught, Piper might still be able to disable the catapults and give the _Argo II _a clear path to the Acropolis. She was willing to bet that the giants never expected Piper to lead the way to the temple. Which just went to show how vastly idiotic it was to underestimate your enemies. But the giants were violent and large; no one had ever said they were smart.

All of this meant that Annabeth was less than shocked when she was captured. But it didn't mean she was happy about it. She'd only managed to disable one onager when the giantess Periboia reared up behind her. "I smell demigod!"

Before Annabeth could draw her sword, Periboia grabbed her arms. Her Mist disguise burned away and the giantess leered in triumph. "We knew you would come, daughter of Athena. I thought you were supposed to be wise."

Annabeth tried to stomp on Periboia's feet, but the giantess simply lifted her into the air. "The Earth Mother will be pleased."

An Earthborn hurtled out of a nearby group of monsters. Before Periboia could react, the monster stabbed her in the thigh. The giantess roared in pain and dropped Annabeth, who rolled out of the way and tried to draw her sword. But another giant fist wrapped around her, pinning her arms to her sides.

"Let me guess," Enceladus rumbled as his other fist shot out and wrapped around the Earthborn's throat. "This must be the great Percy Jackson."

Percy's disguise vanished. He kicked and struggled with the giant's fist at his throat. His face began to turn blue.

"Let him go!" Annabeth's voice cracked with panic.

"Oh, don't fear, child." Enceladus tossed Annabeth at Periboia, who caught her with a growl. The wound on the giantess's leg was already healing. Enceladus shifted his grip on Percy, so that he was no longer holding him by the throat. Percy was still trapped in the giant's fist, but at least he could breathe. "This one mustn't die yet. He'll be a special treat for the Earth Mother. We have waited a long time for your downfall, Percy Jackson."

"What else is new?" Percy said. "A lot of monsters and giants have told me that."

"But this time there is no escape. Perseus Jackson and Annabeth Chase, your blood shall water the ancient stones and wake the Earth Mother." The giant's cruel smile left no room for hope. "Prepare to die."

* * *

><p>Being paraded around her mother's temple by Periboia was horrible. Watching her own blood turn as gold as ichor on the stones of the Parthenon was worse. But seeing Porphyrion smack Percy halfway across the Acropolis made Annabeth furious. She was dizzy from pain and blood loss, but she struggled to her feet, blade in hand, determined to beat the ever-loving Tartarus out of the giant king.<p>

But as it turned out, she didn't need to.

Because their friends were _awesome_.

Jason, Frank, and Hazel descending on the giants was the single best thing that had happened all day. For a brief moment, Annabeth dared to hope.

But their good luck didn't last. The giants were simply too powerful. It didn't take long before the demigods were backed into a defensive ring, surrounded by the giants.

And then Percy's blood touched the ground.

A tremor shook the entire hillside. Grins spread across the giants' faces. Annabeth's stomach heaved with the ground. After all their efforts, they had failed. Gaea would rise. She and her friends would die, probably painfully. But Annabeth refused to go down without a fight. She raised the hunting knife she had taken from the giantess. Her friends also raised their weapons.

And the skies opened up as the Olympians descended on the Acropolis.

It felt great to fight beside her mom. During the Titan War, the demigods had defended Olympus alone while the gods were off battling Typhon. Today, finally, their parents stepped in to offer some godly back-up. And it worked. But now the demigods would be on their own again, heading back across the sea to defeat Gaea and save the camps. The giants were gone, but Annabeth knew in her heart that the hardest part of the battle was still to come.

The seven of them had agreed on an escape plan before coming back up to the ship. Now, they just needed to grab anything they wanted to save from their rooms before preparing to get smacked across the ocean. It took Annabeth all of a minute to clear out her bedroom. She wasn't worried about her clothes; she could always get more of those. The only things she put in her backpack were the pictures pinned up over her desk, her books and journal, and her New York Yankees cap, even though it still wasn't working. _Maybe one day_, she thought as she zipped up her backpack. Annabeth took one final look around her room, then gently closed the door.

Most of the others were in the mess hall already, but Percy's door was still open. Annabeth walked down the hall to find him standing in the middle of his room, holding the Minotaur horn. She leaned against the doorway and waited for him to look up. When he did, he gave her his familiar sarcastic smile.

"Couldn't leave this behind," he said.

"Definitely not," she agreed. "Are you almost ready?"

"Just about." He pulled open a couple drawers and threw a few more things into his backpack. "How's your leg?"

"Better. My mom healed it for me." Annabeth watched as Percy unpinned a picture of the two of them from the wall next to his bed. "I feel dirty, though. I hate that Gaea used our blood."

"I know." Percy made a face as he zipped his backpack shut. But when he slung it over his shoulder and turned to face her, there was an almost suspicious expression on his face. "Tell me the truth. You knew what would happen on the Acropolis, didn't you? I mean, you knew we were walking into a trap and they would probably capture the two of us."

"I had my suspicions," Annabeth admitted. "It seemed like the obvious strategy. But that's why I wanted us to split up, even though you were right and it was a bad idea."

"Because they weren't expecting Piper."

"Exactly."

"Pretty smart." Percy looked around at his cabin. "Gods, I'm going to miss this ship."

"Me, too. But at least we're going home. Assuming, of course, that Gaea hasn't destroyed it yet."

"Yeah. Home." Percy's expression turned wistful.

"Come on, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth took his hand. She turned to walk down the hall, but Percy pulled her back.

"One sec." He cupped her face with his free hand. His thumb traced her cheekbone. Annabeth's fingertips tingled as he leaned in and kissed her, lightly and sweetly. "I love you. Just wanted to say that again, in case we disintegrate in the atmosphere or something."

Annabeth was having trouble breathing again, but she managed to say, "I love you, too, Percy."

His smile was the best thing she'd ever seen. She kissed him again, quickly, because how could she not? Then, hand in hand, they made their way to the mess hall where their friends were waiting.


	8. Chapter 8: Camp Half-Blood, part one

*****So here it is, the final chapter, which is actually split into three chapters, but they're all going to be posted today. Sorry for the delay, but this thing turned into a little bit of a monster because there was a lot I wanted to get in—like SALLY. Because that reunion totally needed to be there. For anyone who read my version of Blood of Olympus, some of these scenes might sound a little familiar, because I borrowed a bit from that story, but adapted the scenes to fit what happened in the real **_**Blood of Olympus**_**. **

**Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed this story! If you liked this one, please check out my other stories. Hope you enjoy reading these final missing moments chapters!*****

* * *

><p><strong>HAZEL:<strong>

The explosion shook the world. The light burned Hazel's retinas, forcing her to close her eyes. When she opened them again, the first thing she saw was two tiny figures plummeting towards the ground.

"Frank!" Hazel screamed, pointing upward to where Jason and Piper were tumbling out of the sky. But before Frank could transform, a pair of giant Roman eagles swept down and snatched their friends out of the air, delivering them safely to the ground.

"We need to get over there," Frank told Hazel. He climbed onto Arion's back behind her and they shot off toward their friends. Hazel felt sick to her stomach. _Two tiny figures. _Only Jason and Piper. She gave a dry sob.

They reached the spot where the eagles had landed at the same moment as Percy and Annabeth. A Roman medic and an Apollo camper were already on site. They gave Jason and Piper each some nectar and unicorn draught. Within a minute, they were both sitting up.

"Leo," Piper said immediately.

Hazel and Annabeth exchanged looks, then Annabeth said, "He—he didn't come down."

Piper covered her face with her hands. Jason put an arm around her shoulders, though he looked pretty broken up himself.

"What happened up there?" Percy asked.

Jason explained their plan, how they had tried to defeat Gaea in the same way Ouranos, the primordial sky god, had once been defeated. "Piper put her to sleep, then Leo was going to vaporize her." Jason frowned. "But did something else happen? I swear we passed another fireball coming down. And it sounded like it was screaming."

"That was Octavian." Nico had approached without any of them realizing it. "He launched a volley from one of the onagers. And, accidentally, launched himself with it."

Hazel was horrified. "That's awful!"

Nico shrugged. "Maybe. Personally, I say good riddance."

"I'll second that," Percy said.

Although she was a little shocked by the boys' coldness, Hazel had to admit that compared to her grief for Leo, Octavian's demise wasn't that tragic.

"Listen, I was actually coming to find you guys," Nico said. "There are still problems. We need your help. Unless, Jason and Piper, you're not up for it?"  
>"No, we're fine." Piper struggled to her feet. Jason, too, rose. "What do we need to do?"<p>

The rest of the day was such a whirlwind of caring for the injured, cleaning up the messes, and beginning to coordinate things between the Romans and the Greeks that Hazel barely caught a glimpse of her friends. She couldn't help looking at the sky every few minutes, though. She knew it was probably hopeless, but she kept expecting Leo to swoop in on Festus, grinning like a madman. Sadly, it didn't happen. So, every few minutes, Hazel wiped the tears off her cheeks and threw herself back into her work.

* * *

><p>It was amazing how well the camps learned to work together.<p>

"Nothing unites bitter foes like a common enemy," Chiron the centaur observed two days after the battle with Gaea. Hazel had heard a lot about the centaur from Annabeth; it was nice to finally meet him. She and Frank were spending a lot of time with Chiron, who was interested in inspecting the Roman troops and encampment. It had been over a century since the centaur had been involved with the legion. "But I am happy to see everyone getting along so well. Cooperation is a much better solution than total separation."

Too soon, it was time for the Romans to head back to the West Coast. Hazel was eager to see Camp Jupiter again, but the thought of leaving her friends from the _Argo II_ made her heart hurt.

She woke up on the morning of August fourth, the day the Romans were leaving, completely disoriented on Nico's side of the cabin. It took Hazel a moment to figure out why she was there. Then she remembered the previous night, when she'd cried herself to sleep. A lead weight settled on her stomach.

Leo.

Despite what Nico had said, despite the fact that she knew the plan had been Leo's to begin with, Hazel wasn't quite ready to forgive herself. She had failed her friend. But even though she knew he was dead, she couldn't completely snuff out the tiny spark of hope that maybe Nico was wrong. There was a chance the physician's cure had worked. This was Leo, after all; if anyone could invent a way back from death, it was him.

The morning was a rush of activities as the legion broke camp and loaded the fleet of SUVs waiting at the bottom of Half-Blood Hill. Hazel's stomach churned at the thought of riding in a car cross-country. Maybe she could call Arion for a ride once in a while, to take a break.

By noon, everything was ready to go. The legionnaires were packed into the vehicles and the first dozen SUVs had already driven off. There was only one empty car left, driven by Michael Kahale, and waiting for Reyna, Frank, and Hazel.

The three of them were standing at the top of Half-Blood Hill, underneath a massive pine tree, saying their good-byes to Piper, Annabeth, Percy, Jason, and Nico.

Reyna drew herself up. "Well, it's been an interesting summer."

The others laughed. "That's one way to put it," Percy said.

Reyna cracked a smile. "I hope you know, you're all welcome at Camp Jupiter any time."

"Same for you, here at Camp Half-Blood," Piper said. "I hope you'll think about what I said."

"I will," Reyna promised. She hugged Piper. "Thank you."

"Actually, I think we should be thanking _you_, Reyna," Annabeth said. "And Nico, for what you guys accomplished, bringing the statue back here."

Reyna shrugged. "We all did our parts."

"Still, you took a chance and trusted us. So, thank you." Annabeth hugged Reyna.

"While we're doing the thank you stuff," Percy chimed in, "can I say thanks for not killing me when I first showed up at Camp Jupiter?"

Reyna actually laughed at that. "Believe me, it was a hard decision."

After she hugged Percy, Reyna turned to Jason. "I'm sure we'll see you soon, _pontifex_."

Jason looked a little uncomfortable, but Hazel wasn't sure if it was because of the title or his history with Reyna. "Definitely. I've got some shrines to build. Starting with Kymopoleia's."

"And then you need to make her action figure, so we can smash it," Frank added.

"With a rock." Jason grinned, then hugged Reyna. "Take care, Reyna."

Finally, Reyna turned to Nico, who was hanging back in the shadow of the pine tree. "Nico."

Nico stepped forward with a sideways smile. "Saving the best for last?"

"Of course." Reyna hugged Nico. "It was good shadow-traveling with you."

"You, too," Nico said. "And remember, what happens in Albania…"

"Stays in Albania." Reyna kissed his cheek, which seemed to surprise him, but he looked happy about it.

"Alright," Reyna glanced at Frank and Hazel. "I'll give you guys a few minutes. Then, Praetor Zhang, we have business to take care of on the ride."

Frank nodded, then saluted. "_Ave_, Praetor Ramirez-Arellano."

"_Ave_, Praetor Ramirez-Arellano!" the others echoed.

A smile tugged at the corners of Reyna's lips. "_Ave_, heroes of Olympus." She gave a final wave, then turned and walked down the hill to the waiting SUV.

Nico cleared his throat. "Okay, I'll do my good-byes, then give you all a couple minutes." He held out a hand to shake Frank's. "Take care of my sister, Zhang."

"You got it." Frank pulled Nico in for a hug.

"Oof! My ribs," Nico grunted, but he didn't really look annoyed.

Hazel got a little teary-eyed when Nico turned to her. He smiled. "I'll see you soon, Hazel. Promise."

She hugged him tight. "You'd better come out to Camp Jupiter."

"I will." Nico kissed her cheek. "Love you, sis."

"Love you, too."

As Nico walked back into Camp Half-Blood, Hazel thought she saw a new spring in his step. She had no idea why he seemed so much happier today, but it made her glad.

Now it was just the crew of the _Argo II _standing beneath the pine tree, which made the absence of Leo even more pronounced. Hazel swallowed back tears. _It's not like you won't see them again_, she reminded herself. But it was still hard to leave.

Percy spread his arms. "Frank, Hazel…we'll always have Alaska."

That made them laugh. "Good memories," Frank said. "Eating reindeer meat, fighting gryphons, hiding under blue giant butts."

"Yep, good times. Get over here, big guy." Percy and Frank hugged, which seemed to include a lot of slapping each other on the back. Hazel rolled her eyes at Annabeth.

After the boys broke apart, Percy held out his arms to Hazel. She hugged him. His shirt smelled like fresh sea air. "Thanks for standing for me that first day," Percy said.

Hazel stepped back and smiled. "I think it was the right choice."

"Dude, good luck with the praetorship." Jason fist-bumped Frank, then gave him a quick hug. "Word of warning: whatever you do, _do not_ touch Reyna's jellybeans. Trust me."

Frank looked mildly alarmed. "No jellybeans. Got it."

Hazel hugged Jason while Frank said his good-byes to Piper and Annabeth. Both girls kissed him on the cheek, which made Frank blush and Hazel smile. She was glad that along with the new confidence, Frank was still the same sweet, bashful guy.

"You're coming out for the war games sometime, right?" Hazel asked Annabeth.

"Absolutely," Annabeth said as she hugged Hazel. "Plus, I think Piper owes us both a surfing lesson."

"Girls' weekend in Malibu," Piper agreed. "Just as soon as we can plan it."

"Sounds fun." Hazel smiled and hugged Piper. "And you'll call me if there's any sign, right?"

"That very minute," Piper promised. All six of them glanced at the sky.

"Look," said Jason, "I know what Nico said. But if anybody can do the impossible, it's Leo."

"We can't give up hope," Piper said.

"Never," Hazel agreed.

"This is Valdez we're talking about," Frank pointed out. "I bet you he'll show up out of the blue one day, probably while we're right in the middle of something important."

They all laughed. "That sounds about right," Percy said.

At the bottom of the hill, Michael Kahale honked the horn.

"I think that's our cue," Hazel said.

A sense of gloom settled over them. Then Percy said, "Alright, people, group hug. Partly because you _know_ Valdez would gripe about it."

That broke the tension as everyone laughed again. They huddled together for a few seconds, and when they broke apart, Hazel wasn't the only one quickly wiping tears off her cheeks.

Michael Kahale honked the horn again.

"Time to go." Hazel slipped her hand into Frank's and took one last look around at their friends. "Stay safe, you guys."

"We'll try," Piper said with a smile. "You, too."

With a final flurry of waves and good-byes, Hazel and Frank turned and walked down the hill.

As the SUV pulled away, Hazel leaned against Frank in the backseat. He put his arm around her. Hazel was sad, but she was also smiling as they began their long drive west.

Time to go home.


	9. Chapter 9: Sally

**PERCY:**

As the final Roman SUVs disappeared down the road, both Annabeth and Piper broke down crying. Percy was feeling a little choked up himself, but he was still surprised.

"We'll see them again," he said as he put an arm around Annabeth's shoulders. "Probably soon."

"I know." She wiped her eyes. "It's not just that. It's everything. It's been a very long summer."

"That's the truth," Jason said. He kissed Piper's cheek. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." Piper took a deep breath and dried her cheeks with the sleeve of her t-shirt. "Like Annabeth said, it's just been a long summer. This past week, especially."

"I hear that," Percy agreed.

From the dining pavilion, the conch horn sounded, announcing lunch.

"Sweet," Jason said. When Piper gave him an are-you-kidding-me look, he shrugged. "What? I'm starving. You guys coming?" he asked Percy and Annabeth.

Percy's mouth was dry. "Actually, man, I have kind of an errand I need to run." He glanced at Annabeth. "You want to come with me?"

"Sure. Where are we headed?"

Nervous butterflies filled Percy's stomach, accompanied by a massive wave of homesickness. He tried to respond, but he couldn't get the words past the sudden lump in his throat.

Annabeth seemed to read the answer on his face, though. She took his hand and told Jason and Piper, "We'll catch up with you guys at dinner tonight, okay?"

Piper smiled. Maybe with her Aphrodite senses she could tell what Percy was planning. "Sure. See you guys later."

Jason and Piper headed to the dining pavilion, leaving Percy and Annabeth alone beneath Thalia's tree.

"So how are you planning to get to Manhattan, Seaweed Brain?"

"Like this." Percy closed his eyes and concentrated hard. _Blackjack, buddy, where are you?_

_On my way, boss_, the horse replied. Within a minute, a dark shape swept overhead and landed on the grass in front of them. Blackjack nuzzled Percy. _Sorry about that kick to the head, boss. I wouldn't have done it if you'd been yourself._

"It's all good, Blackjack. You probably saved our lives. Listen, we need a lift to the Upper East Side. You up for it?"

Blackjack whinnied, which Percy took for a yes. He climbed on the pegasus, then held out a hand to pull Annabeth up behind him. "Let's go!"

It took them about an hour to fly from Camp Half-Blood to Manhattan. Percy's nerves were mounting the closer they got, his stomach twisting in knots. He hadn't been home in eight months. He was grateful Annabeth was with him as the skyline of New York City rose on the horizon.

Blackjack smoothly navigated the tunnel of New York streets, hemmed in by skyscrapers. The streets were bustling with midafternoon traffic. Cabs honked, people talked on cell phones as they hurried along, tourists snapped pictures. Everything was busy and hectic and perfectly New York. To Percy, it felt like home.

Blackjack clattered to the pavement in front of his mom's apartment building. As Percy slid off the pegasus, the rush of homesickness he'd been fighting ever since he woke up in the Wolf House months ago (when he didn't even know where his home _was_) threatened to engulf him. He swallowed the lump in his throat, but he couldn't seem to lift his foot and take that first step. Annabeth laced her fingers through his and tugged him gently towards the front door. "Come on, Percy."

The elevator ride to the fifth floor seemed to take no time. Suddenly, they were in front of his mom's apartment. Percy wasn't sure whether to knock. "I don't have my key with me. I think it's back in my cabin at camp."

Annabeth tried the door, which was unlocked. She opened it. When Percy didn't move, she gave him a light push. "It's just your apartment, Seaweed Brain."

Percy stumbled inside. The hall light was on and he could see the living room from here. A familiar voice called, "Paul? I thought you weren't going to be back until later?"

_Mom_. Percy wanted to call back, but his voice wouldn't work. It didn't matter, though. Sally Jackson came around the corner, smiling and drying a frying pan, expecting her husband. When she saw her son, she froze.

"Hey, Mom," Percy managed. "I—I promised I'd make it home."

The frying pan hit the floor with a thud. Sally shrieked and ran forward, flinging her arms around her son. "_Percy_!"

Percy buried his face in his mom's shoulder. She smelled like cookies and lavender and _home_.

Sally was alternating between sobbing and kissing his face. "Percy, oh my baby, we were so worried. There was that phone call, but then we never heard anything else and then Rachel and Grover told us you'd fallen into _Tartarus_ and I never thought—but you're _back_." She finally pulled away, holding him at arm's length, examining him like she was looking for injuries. Apparently satisfied that he was okay, she hugged him again. "Oh, I'm just so happy you're home!"

"Me too, Mom," Percy said. His voice was thick and he felt tears stinging his eyes, which was a little embarrassing, but whatever. After everything they'd been through—his amnesia, Tartarus, the final fight with Gaea—when his mom hugged him, he didn't have any energy left to hold back the tears.

His mom noticed Annabeth and released Percy to throw her arms around his girlfriend. "Annabeth, sweetheart, I'm so glad you're okay, too!"

Annabeth's voice was muffled as she hugged Sally, but Percy was pretty sure he heard her say, "I told you I'd bring him home."

"I knew you would." Sally kissed Annabeth's cheek. Both of them were wiping their eyes as they broke apart.

A timer went off in the kitchen. "Oh, that's the cookies," Sally said. "You're just in time."

"Blue chocolate chip?" Percy asked hopefully.

"What else?" His mom smiled.

"Awesome," Percy said.

His mom went back into the kitchen, stopping to pick up the dropped frying pan on her way, and Percy turned to Annabeth. "You told my mom you'd bring me home?"

She blushed. "Yeah, well, we were worried. Besides, I told you a long time ago, if you're going to save the world, I'm the best person to keep you from messing up."

Percy grinned. "Yeah, you are."

He slid his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. When Annabeth put her hands around his neck, Percy was reminded strongly of their first real kiss. His pulse was racing as he leaned forward now and kissed her.

They broke apart when his mom called from the kitchen, "You two better not have left or, so help me, Perseus, I will ground you for a year!"

They both laughed. Percy took Annabeth's hand and led her into the kitchen. "Don't worry, Mom. I'm not going anywhere. Definitely not before cookies."

The front door opened and closed. Paul's voice said, "Sally, I got done early and—"

His voice died as he walked into the kitchen.

Sally beamed. "Look who's home."

"Percy!" Paul engulfed him in a bear hug. He thumped Percy on the back and said, gruffly, "Glad you're home, son."

"Thanks, Paul," Percy said, returning the hug.

As Paul released Percy to give Annabeth a hug, too, Sally wiped her eyes on a kitchen towel. She was still smiling, though, as she set a plate of warm, blue, chocolate chip cookies on the table. "Alright, guys, grab a glass of milk. Then I want to hear the whole story."

As the four of them sat down around the table, Percy couldn't help grinning like an idiot. The war was over and they'd made it back to New York. Best of all, his mom had made cookies.

It was good to be home.

* * *

><p><strong>***Because I feel like Sally always would have had cookies ready, hoping and waiting for Percy to come home.***<strong>


	10. Chapter 10: Camp Half-Blood, part two

*****The final, final chapter. Thanks again everyone for reading and reviewing! : ) *****

* * *

><p><strong>ANNABETH:<strong>

Annabeth couldn't sleep. Again. She hadn't been sleeping that well since the battle; there was simply too much on her mind. Finally, after tossing and turning until well after midnight, Annabeth gave up on sleep. A different idea came to her. As quietly as she could, she got up and threw on shorts and a t-shirt. Out of habit, she tucked the tiny owl _milagro_ that Leo had given her into her pocket. She'd been carrying it around since he gave it to her. She still didn't understand why he'd given her the charm, but she appreciated it. Secretly, given the way everything had worked out, she suspected it _did_ have some protective abilities.

But thinking of Leo made her chest hurt. And tonight, Annabeth needed a break from the grief. Just a small one.

The summer night was warm. Overhead, the sky sparkled with a million stars. Moving almost silently on her bare feet, Annabeth stole through the shadows, making her way towards Cabin Three. Halfway there, she heard the creak of another cabin door opening, so she ducked behind a shrub next to the Demeter cabin.

Jason slipped out of the Zeus cabin. His glasses flashed as he glanced quickly around the yard, checking for patrol harpies, then he headed towards the Aphrodite cabin. Annabeth smiled to herself, remembering what she had told Piper all those months ago. _Jason's here now. Who knows? Maybe it'll work out with you guys for real._ She was glad things had worked out for the two of them; they were good together. She wondered briefly what Jason was up to, then decided that was his business. She just hoped they didn't have the same final destination in mind. But Jason was a child of the sky; she doubted he'd end up at the beach.

Percy, however, was a son of the sea. And the ocean had always reminded Annabeth of him.

As soon as Jason was past, Annabeth hurried across the lawn and snuck into the Poseidon cabin. Sneaking around after curfew had been much easier when she could still use her hat for invisibility. Briefly, she wondered if maybe this was part of the reason her mother hadn't restored its magic. She leaned against the cabin's door, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness inside. She'd expected to hear Tyson's rumbling snores, then remembered that the big guy had left this morning with the Romans.

"Hey, you."

Annabeth nearly shot out of her skin. The absolute last thing she had expected was to find Percy sitting on his bed, fully dressed. She put a hand over her heart, trying not to go into cardiac arrest. "You scared me."

"You snuck into my cabin in the middle of the night, but _I _scared _you_?" Percy smirked. "That's a good one."

"Oh, shut up, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth pushed away from the door and took a step further into the room. "Why are you up?"

"Couldn't sleep. You know, I miss the big guy's snoring." Percy gestured half-heartedly at Tyson's bed, though they both knew that wasn't the real problem. "Why are _you_ awake?"

"Same problem. Couldn't sleep, I mean, not the snoring. There's plenty of that in my cabin." Percy chuckled. Annabeth's pulse was racing again, but for a whole different reason. "I just thought, maybe, we could take a walk."

Percy raised an eyebrow. "You know, the last time you suggested that in the middle of the night, we ended up grounded by a satyr."

"So this time, let's not get caught."

"Good plan." Percy stood and stretched. "Where are we headed?"

"You'll see."

Annabeth led Percy down to the beach. Long Island Sound glimmered under the starlight, waves gently brushing up against the sand. She took a deep breath of the salty air. "Is this a good spot for a walk?"

Percy smiled as he laced his fingers with hers. "Absolutely."

They strolled down the beach, not in any particular hurry, until they were nearly at the camp's boundary. They sat down in the sand, just close enough to the water so that the edges of the surf washed over their bare feet.

"You know, I think this is almost the same spot where I met Hermes, before we went into the Sea of Monsters to rescue Grover," Percy said.

"Gods, that seems like so long ago." Annabeth looked out at the ocean, half expecting to see the _Princess Andromeda_, but there was no cruise ship on the horizon, only stars. "That was the first time you made an air bubble underwater, wasn't it? In Siren Bay?"

"Yeah." Percy picked up a sea shell and tossed it into the waves. "What did you tell me, by the way?"

"When?"

"In the bubble. You said something, but I had that wax in my ears, so I missed it."

"Oh." Annabeth remembered. Being ripped out of the fantasy the sirens had shown her had been horrible, but Percy had put his arms around her and let her cry and promised to get them safely back to their ship. As miserable as she had felt, she was also incredibly grateful he was there. "I just said thank you. For, you know, rescuing me and being there."

"I'll always be there." Percy grinned. "Just try and get rid of me."

Annabeth traced her finger in the sand. "That reminds me. I don't think I've told you yet."

"Told me what?"

Annabeth met his eyes. Butterflies danced in her stomach. "What you did in Rome, in Arachne's cave, was pretty amazing."

"Easiest decision of my life," Percy said. "I mean, what would you have done, if it was reversed?"

"Oh, I would have let go."

Percy looked as stunned as if she'd slapped him. "Wh-what?"

"Of the _ledge_, Seaweed Brain. Only the ledge." Annabeth smacked his arm lightly. "After all the trouble I went to searching for your sorry butt for six months, no way am I letting you get away again."

"Oh." Percy's shoulders relaxed and he exhaled. "Okay, good."

She shook her head incredulously. "You can't honestly have believed—"

"Nah, you just caught me off guard."

"Your head really is full of kelp."

"So I've been told." Percy leaned closer and Annabeth's heart began to race. He kissed her. His lips were salty and his hand on her neck was warm. Annabeth felt the fear and the stress and the anger she had been living with for the past months finally melt away. She focused on the waves washing over her feet, the sea breeze blowing her hair, and, most importantly, on Percy beside her. It was a while before they spoke again.

"Do you really mean it?" Percy finally asked as he laced his fingers with hers in the sand. "About New Rome and college and everything else? Because I know when I first brought it up you weren't really—"

Annabeth stopped him with a kiss. "I mean it."

"Okay. Cool." Percy had a ridiculous grin on his face and Annabeth had to laugh.

"A lot has changed since you first brought that up, Seaweed Brain. Now, I'm pretty sure we've earned our happy ending."

"Yeah." Percy's expression turned solemn. "I just wish things could have worked out for everyone."

The crushing weight of Leo's absence hit Annabeth again. "I know."

She leaned her head against Percy's shoulder. They were quiet for a little while, just watching the waves.

"Maybe he found his way back to Calypso," Percy ventured. "Time flows differently there. He could show up in a month thinking it's only been a couple of days."

"Yeah, maybe." Annabeth touched the _milagro_ in her pocket. "I guess there's always hope."

Silence settled around them. The only sound was the rush of the waves. Despite her sadness, for the first time in nearly a year Annabeth felt at peace.

"The Huntress is rising." Percy pointed to a constellation just touching the horizon. He waved. "Hey, Zoe."

"Nice. Do you know any other constellations?"

"A few." Percy looked at her sideways. "This cute girl I know taught them to me. She's pretty smart."

Annabeth hid a smile. "Want to show me some?"

"Sure." Percy laid back on the sand and Annabeth snuggled up next to him. "So, starting from the North Star, right up overhead…"

Percy pointed out the different constellations she had taught him years ago and mentioned the myths they had come from. It was actually impressive how much he remembered. She told him so.

"Like I said, I had a great teacher." Percy kissed her. "Love you, Annabeth."

"Love you, too."

Annabeth knew they should probably go back to their cabins, but she just couldn't bring herself to suggest it. She was warm and comfortable, curled up with Percy. At some point, she must have stopped worrying about going back, because she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

><p>A few days later, when Leo Valdez still had not returned, Annabeth made a trip alone through the woods to Bunker Nine. The doors opened with a creak. The place was dark and dusty. It was strange to see it deserted. For months, the bunker had been the center of activity at camp, as they had rushed to build the <em>Argo II<em>. Annabeth half expected Leo to pop up from behind a work bench, welding goggles askew, and offer a random joke.

But he didn't.

Annabeth swallowed hard. She had never been as close to Leo as Piper and Hazel were, but they'd always gotten along. And there was a mutual respect between them, because of their shared interest in the finer points of design and construction. Besides, after everything they'd been through this summer, Leo felt just as much like family as the rest of the crew.

Piper had told Annabeth that she and Jason weren't giving up hope, despite what Nico had said. Logically, Annabeth didn't understand how Leo could possibly be alive. But she had learned to trust Piper's feelings. If her friend believed that Leo would come back, then Annabeth would have bet a million golden drachmas that one day he would come swooping in, probably interrupting something serious, like Frank had said.

She walked up to the main workbench. Tools were still scattered across the top, just the way Leo had left it the day they'd set sail for Camp Jupiter. From her pocket, Annabeth drew the tiny owl _milagro_ Leo had made. She'd threaded a red ribbon through its wings, like a Christmas ornament.

Gently, she hung it on the nail that had once held Leo's crayon drawing of the _Argo II_. Miracles could happen. They all needed to believe that.

Annabeth looked once more around Bunker Nine. Then she turned and walked back into the woods, closing the doors behind her.

* * *

><p><strong>LEO:<strong>

As Festus reached his cruising altitude and leveled out, Calypso rested her cheek against Leo's shoulder.

"Thank you," she whispered, "for coming back for me."

Leo couldn't speak around the lump in his throat. He simply squeezed her hand.

_Creak. Creak creak creak._

Festus drew Leo's attention to the compass, which had been out of whack ever since he'd woken up. Now, the needle spun wildly once more, then shuddered and became still.

The arrow was pointing north.

Excitement sparked in Leo's chest.

"Good news, Sunshine," he told Calypso. "We are officially back in the real world."

Below them, there was still nothing except blue ocean, but the compass stayed true. Leo began to grin. He didn't know exactly where they were, but now he knew for sure that they would find their way home.

**THE END**


End file.
